Same Team, Different Sensei
by Silver Warrior
Summary: With a simple change of events, Team 7's fate is irrevocably altered. With a different sensei, can they learn what it means to be a team, and rise above their challenges? Pairings eventually.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishamoto. Any original characters you see within are, unless stated otherwise, owned by me.

Some characters have been changed. Mostly these are background characters, giving them more depth.

"talking"

'thinking'

"_Jutsu"_

"**demon"**

"_**Inner Sakura talking**_"

'**demon thinking'**

-0-0-0-

Twelve years ago, a terrible sacrifice was made. A newborn infant was chosen to be the container for the mightiest of the Bijuu, the Kyuubi no Youko. The squalling, blond, blue-eyed infant was cursed with telltale whisker marks on his cheeks, and a naturally mischievous attitude that led to many an interesting time within Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village. Shunned by the villagers, he chose to pull numerous pranks to gain attention of any sort he could muster. He fought for recognition, and to achieve it, he set himself a goal: to be Hokage. A journey that shall soon begin.

Five years ago, a terrible tragedy befell the village. One of its founding Clans, the Uchiha, was betrayed by one of their own and slaughtered save for one eight year old boy. This event sent the young survivor down the dark, lonely path of an avenger. Isolating himself from any potential friends, the young Uchiha carried on vigilantly, a loner with only one goal: to kill his older brother. A quest for vengeance that shall change his life forever.

Both of these events, tied together by hidden motives, have caused many unexpected changes within the world, and only time will tell how far their effects reach. Lives will be irrevocably altered, and the course of history itself has been changed. A critical point in destiny is coming, and upon it the linchpin of fate will turn.

* * *

"I see, so you are resolute in your decision?" Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, asked the shinobi standing before him.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the shinobi's reply was short, clipped and precise, "I feel that it is time to take my leave of ANBU and rejoin normal shinobi ranks. ANBU missions are beginning to wear on me."

"You do realize that as a Jounin, you will be asked to take on missions every bit as strenuous as those you took as an ANBU," Sarutobi remarked.

"That may be, Hokage-sama, but at least I won't have to wear the mask anymore." The shinobi had always hated hiding behind a mask. While he did not mind sneaking about as a true shinobi did, he hated not being up front about his identity. He was, in fact, well known for being poor at deception, at least about his identity.

"Hmmm, yes, that is true," the Sandaime muttered as he took a long drag from his pipe. "I believe you could be quite useful as an ANBU still, so I am putting you on ANBU reserve status. You will only be required to don the mask again when it is absolutely necessary. You will still carry the authority of an ANBU captain amongst normal shinobi and outrank most ANBU, but the other ANBU captains will still outrank you officially."

"That is fine with me, Hokage-sama. I doubt it'll be much of an issue anyway."

Sarutobi nodded in agreement. A handful of other shinobi, Hatake Kakashi included, held such positions, though Kakashi as one of the more powerful and experienced shinobi in the village still held authority equal to an on-duty ANBU captain. In fact only the major Clan Heads, the Council members, and the Hokage himself truly outranked the cycloptic Jounin. Shuffling through a folder, he pulled out some files. "There is, however, another matter. Your withdrawal from ANBU is fortuitous."

The Jounin standing before the Sandaime frowned. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this. The Sandaime could be a right meddlesome old man at times.

"As you know, this is the time of the year when those who pass the Academy exams graduate, and become Genin. I would like for you to take a team under your wing, and train them."

The shinobi froze. Him, take on a Genin team? No, he'd be the worst choice to lead a Genin team. He'd only been an ANBU platoon leader because he'd had strong, experienced shinobi working with him, like Tenzo, Yuugao, and Shorin, all highly advanced shinobi and among the strongest in the village. Leaving Tenzo in charge of the platoon was a good decision. He could lead the squad even better than he himself had and find a good replacement.

"Hokage-sama, surely you jest." The shinobi obviously DID NOT want to lead a Genin team. It brought up bad memories.

"I am sorry, but you have skills that are in need of being passed on," Sarutobi replied sternly, "furthermore, you will be placed in charge of a team that is in dire need of the kind of direction you can provide. I had intended to give them to Kakashi, but they are in need of more attention than he would likely give. Of course, there is the matter of them passing his bell test at all in the first place."

The shinobi frowned. If that was the case, then he was a good choice to teach them, even if he didn't want to. And if he recalled correctly, wasn't the last survivor of _that_ clan set to graduate this time?

The former ANBU sighed. "Very well, Hokage-sama. Who are my subordinates?"

The Sandaime Hokage smiled as he placed the three files in front of the ex-ANBU. "Here are the Genin to be under your care."

After a glance at the three files, two stick out in his mind. "Hokage-sama, you wish for me to watch over him?"

"You are one of the only two shinobi who could accurately prepare him for the challenge he wishes to undertake. And you would treat all three fairly."

With a sigh, the shinobi looks over the files again. "hmmm it says here that Haruno Sakura is a Genjutsu type? Then why wasn't she put with Kurenai-san?"

"Kurenai specifically requested being allowed to become Hyuuga Hinata's Jounin instructor, it is why she took the Jounin exam at all at this time. You know she was full Jounin level almost four years ago."

"Hai, she kept out of the Jounin ranks to avoid having a team when the girl reached Genin status. I remember her talking about that now at the celebration of her ascension in rank. Hmmm chakra levels are rather poor but it states that her control is the best in her class. A direct opposite of the boys on the team. Both have exceptional chakra levels for Genin, especially Uzumaki Naruto. He's also rather skilled at evading pursuers and infiltration, but could be better. Especially if that bright orange monstrosity can be disposed of."

The Sandaime gave a rusty chuckle at that. Convincing Naruto to get rid of his orange jumpsuit was like convincing a river to change its course or a forest fire to stop spreading. Basically, it just wasn't going to happen without a _lot_ of effort.

"Uchiha Sasuke will be relatively easy to teach. He wants power to defeat his brother, but he can quickly learn that sheer power isn't enough, that it takes skill and ingenuity to win. And I can teach him how Itachi thinks, and fights."

Ruffling through the files again, the shinobi frowned. "Uzumaki Naruto's almost complete lack of chakra control will take a lot of work to overcome. With his chakra reserves being as large as they are, learning control will be difficult. However, it is doable."

"Then you will agree to this team?" Sarutobi asked. The Jounin thought for a few moments, then sighed.

"Hai, Hokage-sama, I will take this team. I'm not fond of the idea, but I'll do my duty to Konoha."

"Very well," Sarutobi said as he made the final adjustments to the records, "come tomorrow, you, Kenshin Jiyumaru, will be the Jounin instructor for Team 7, consisting of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto, container of the Kyuubi no Youko and Konoha's Number One Unpredictable Hyperactive Knucklehead Ninja, was having a bad day. First, he gets ignored by the lovely Sakura-chan, who wanted to sit next to that prick Uchiha Sasuke. Ha! What was so great about the broody asshole? Then some idiot had bumped into him when he was glaring at the asshole and they had inadvertently kissed. Yuck! It was the most disgusting moment of Naruto's young life. And shortly thereafter, he got the WORST beating of his entire life at the hands of almost every single girl in the graduating class. Well, except for that weird girl, Hinata.

Then he ended up on a team with Sakura-chan, but he was also stuck with Sasuke. He'd tried to get closer to Sakura by tying Sasuke up and using Henge to take his appearance and talk to her, but she STILL talked down to him. Then his stupid stomach started hurting. Like it was his fault his milk expired. The stupid grocers always sold him the oldest milk ready to expire.

Now they were waiting for their Jounin sensei, along with the rest of the other Genin. The problem was, they were being separated into nine teams of three, and there were only eight Jounin present. Naruto would admit, to himself at least, that he wasn't the smartest person, but he knew that eight didn't divide into twenty-seven evenly. One of the Jounin was late. And he had a sinking feeling that it was his sensei that was late.

Iruka sighed and glanced at the Jounin present. This year some of the most notable Jounin in the village were taking on students, including Sarutobi Asuma, the Sandaime Hokage's son, and Yuuhi Kurenai, Konoha's Genjutsu specialist. Even though Iruka was the same age as Kurenai, she graduated from the Academy a full three years before he had. She would be forming a recon and tracking team with her students. Asuma was forming the newest generation of Ino-Shika-Chou teammates. The team he was the most worried about was Naruto's team. This would be the first Genin team that Kenshin Jiyumaru ever took, and he was fresh out of ANBU. He wasn't sure how open the man would be with the three Genin under his care.

With a sigh, Iruka began calling out the teams and introducing the Genin to their Jounin instructor. Slowly moving down the least, he finally reached Team 7.

"Now, Team 7. Unfortunately, it seems that your sensei is not here just yet."

"Pardon me, Iruka-sensei," interrupted Kurenai politely before Iruka could say anything else, "Jiyumaru-san asked for one of us to take his Genin for the day. He was called away on clan business late yesterday evening and asked who would take our teams to which training ground. Mine was the closest to his return trip so I will be taking them with me."

Iruka frowned. It wasn't unheard of, but it _was_ very unusual. "Very well. Team 7, you will go with Yuuhi Kurenai, who is in charge of Team 8. Both teams, step forward."

The six Genin stepped down to the front of the class as Kurenai studied the three under her care. It seemed that Hinata was as quiet as the records showed, but she couldn't help but notice the glancing at, and subsequent blushes, she gave to the blond fox container of Team 7. She obviously liked the boy, but was too shy to say anything. Kurenai smiled as she remembered a question Jiyumaru had asked her the night before, on helping him train his team, specifically Sakura. Perhaps she could make a deal with him if both teams passed their final tests.

With a friendly smile, she greets the six Genin. "Hello, I'm Yuuhi Kurenai. You three are Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata, correct?"

The three Genin in question nodded in acknowledgment at their sensei's question before she turned her attention to Team 7. "And you three are Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke, correct?"

"um, Kurenai-sensei, what sort of business was our sensei called away on?" Kurenai studied the pink-haired kunoichi for a moment before answering.

"It's business with his clan. You'll have to ask him when he shows up. Now, follow me to Training Ground 8." With that, Kurenai stepped out of the classroom with the six Genin in tow.

Training Ground 8 consisted mostly of dense woodland. While not as large as the infamous Training Ground 44, the Forest of Death, it was still thickly covered with trees. It was the perfect training ground for a recon/tracking team.

Kurenai arrived with Teams 7 and 8, pondering how to proceed. While no one was as big an advocate of teamwork as Hatake Kakashi was, she was going to test her team to see how well they worked together, and she could only assume that Jiyumaru intended to do the same.

She'd heard rumors among her female friends in ANBU, specifically Yuugao who had been in Jiyumaru's platoon, that he was the strictest, harshest ANBU captain of them all, but she didn't really believe it. From her experience he was polite, courteous, and even-tempered, not the sociopath Yuugao portrayed him as. As the Genin gathered around her, sitting in the grass in front of her in a loose semi-circle, Kurenai thought over how to proceed with this.

"Okay, the first thing we need to do is some introductions," Kurenai stated, "nothing fancy, just your names, likes, dislikes, and your dreams and hobbies."

Looking over the Genin, she sighed. It looked like she would have to go first, a fact that was cemented by the Haruno girl's suggestion.

"My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. My likes are shochu and salted octopus, and I dislike liars and fools. My dreams… to help my students be the best that they can be and to someday have a family with a good man. My hobbies include writing a teaching scroll for beginning Genjutsu users."

With a look at the Genin as they digested this information, Kurenai gave Shino a look that said 'you next'.

Shino's voice, Kurenai immediately found out, was as quiet yet forceful as the rest of his clan's. "My name…is Aburame Shino. I like working with my allies, the kikaichu, and utilizing them efficiently. I dislike those who kill insects without good reason. My dream is to master all of my clan's jutsu and invent new ones with the help of my allies. My hobby is cataloguing every insect that I come across, and I hope to someday locate one not catalogued by my clan."

Sakura blinked, confused. "Allies? You mean your teammates and fellow shinobi?"

"He means the kikaichu, with which his family have a pact with," Kurenai explained for the confused kunoichi, "the Aburame form a pact with the kikaichu, a type of chakra-eating beetle, upon birth. They share their bodies with them and, in turn, the kikai do their bidding."

Upon seeing Shino's questioning gaze, or rather feeling it since his face was largely hidden thanks to his sunglasses and high coat collar, she continued. "I've worked with numerous members of Shino's clan, and they are formidable shinobi to work with."

"Share their…" Sakura shrieked, scooting away from Shino, "you mean you have _bugs_ living inside your _body_?"

"Huh, what?" Naruto blinked as he digested that information, "hey, yeah, that's pretty cool, Shino! You must have some really awesome jutsu!"

Kurenai controlled a smile, supposing that to Naruto's point of view having a bunch of insects in your body was a lot more desirable than having a demon, as she motioned for Kiba to go next. "feh. My name's Inuzuka Kiba. My likes are training with Akamaru and taking him for walks. My dislikes are fleas and people who think they're cool when they're really not. My dream is to help Akamaru reach his full potential, and reach mine with him! As for hobbies…. Well, I guess taking Akamaru for walks qualifies, right?"

"I suppose so," Kurenai said, giving the Inuzuka a soft smile. She greatly respected the Inuzuka, and their bond with their nin-ken. They would provide the example of teamwork to the others that would be needed to pass the teamwork portion of their test.

Akamaru yipped in agreement from his spot on top of Kiba's head. The small white pup was wagging its tail as it looked among its future partners, and possibly friends. And hopefully they'd help calm his master down. Or at least control his mouth, some.

"And now you," Kurenai said, nodding to the girl of Team 7.

Sakura gave a somewhat shy smile as she began. "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like is…" Sakura blushed and continued. "The person I like is…" Here, her blush deepened. "ummm should I say my dream for the future?" Kurenai sighed as Sakura gave a blushing glance to the Uchiha survivor. She pitied Jiyumaru, since he would be looking over a fangirl. She winced as Sakura gave a short squeal before finishing. "The thing I dislike…is Naruto."

Kurenai had to smother a smile at the over exaggerated crestfallen look on Naruto's face. It was just so comical! Though she did feel for the boy, since it was obvious he had a childish crush on the pink-haired kunoichi. With a small smile at the blond shinobi's antics, she nodded to him to go next.

Naruto cheers as he practically bounces about in his sitting position. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen, but I _really_ like the Ichiraku ramen Iruka-sensei sometimes buys me! What I dislike is waiting for the 3 minutes it takes to cook instant ramen!"

'He really has ramen on the brain,' Kurenai, Sakura, and Kiba thought, sweatdropping slightly.

'm.maybe I could get N-naruto-kun to notice me if I m-made him some ramen,' Hinata thought to herself, blushing and poking her index fingers together.

"My dream…" Naruto's face took on a determined look, a fierce burning determination that surprised Kurenai, and drew Shino and Sasuke's full attention. "my dream is to surpass all of the previous Hokage! And then have all of the people in this village acknowledge my existence and gain their respect!"

Kurenai was surprised by the vehemence in Naruto's voice. 'He's had a rough life, no thanks to the Kyuubi, and he still wants to be the Hokage. Quite a kid, this Uzumaki Naruto.'

'Naruto-kun…you're amazing!'

"feh, like a loser like you could ever become Hokage!" Kiba jeered.

"What was that, dog breath?!"

"You heard me!"

"Enough, both of you," Kurenai ordered sternly, turning her attention to the Hyuuga heiress, "it's your turn."

Hinata let out a soft 'eep', blushing as everyone's attention turned to her. "M-my name is H-hyuuga Hinata. I-I like m-making healing cr-creams and gardening. I-I like to cook sometimes, too." Though she left it unsaid, like Sakura, she gave Naruto a blushing glance, her index fingers once again poking together.

'She… REALLY likes the Uzumaki boy?' This took Kurenai by surprise. She could tell Hinata liked Naruto just by seeing them together, but that she liked him THAT much? It was a surprise. But considering that the girl looked to be lacking in self-confidence and the boy had it in abundance, it was also obvious as to _why_ she liked him that much.

Hinata's affections were also noticed by Sakura. 'She likes Naruto? Yeesh, she has some pretty poor taste then. What a pair they'd make, a quiet, withdrawn dark-haired girl and a blond, obnoxious loudmouth. They'd be the perfect odd couple, that's for sure!'

'She's a little weird,' Naruto thought, 'but she does seem friendly. I wonder if she's sick, though? Her face is really red.'

"M-my dream is to be a good leader for m-my clan, and h-hopefully one d-day," Hinata said softly, continuing on in her mind, 'and m-maybe tell Naruto-kun how I feel.'

"I also enjoy pr-pressing flowers."

"Hey, that's pretty cool!" Naruto exclaimed, "I think I've seen some pressed flowers before and they looked really neat."

Hinata let out an 'eep' as her face glowed crimson and she turned her head away from Naruto, too shy to meet his gaze, her heart pounding from him taking notice of _her_. And that he said he thought her hobby was _cool_!

"Very good, Hinata," Kurenai said encouragingly, giving the shy girl a smile, "you can train up to be our field medic As a recon and tracking team, we'll need one."

Hinata simply nodded at her sensei's words. If Kurenai-sensei approved of her training to be a medic-nin, there wasn't anything her father could do about it!

Kurenai mentally sighed. She had a long way to go to bolster Hinata's confidence, it seemed. The poor girl was just so withdrawn. She seemed to perk up a _little_ around Naruto, possibly to try and gain the boy's attention, though said attention made her blush and withdraw. Perhaps she could talk to Jiyumaru. He'd asked her for advice on how to train Sakura in Genjutsu, maybe some training as a favor…letting those thoughts go for a moment, she turned her attention to the last of the Genin.

"And finally, the Number One Rookie."

Sasuke scowled as he introduced himself. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I don't like, and I don't really like anything. I wouldn't use the term "dream", but I do have an ambition, and that's to restore my clan and… to kill a certain man."

'oh man, he'd better not mean me!' Naruto thought worriedly.

'ch, thinks he's so cool and all that, just because he's the Number One Rookie and the last of his clan,' Kiba mentally sneered.

'Wow, Sasuke-kun's so _COOL_!' Sakura mentally cheered with a faint blush, Inner Sakura cheering with her, holding up banner's stating how cool she thought Sasuke was.

'I..I hope he doesn't mean Naruto-kun,' Hinata thought, a bit worried for her crush.

'It's to be expected,' Kurenai thought sadly, 'Itachi did slaughter their entire clan. I hope Jiyumaru can handle training an avenger.'

"Now that the introductions are done with, we can move on to the next phase," Kurenai said with a slight smirk, "today, you will be tested for your Genin status."

"What?! But we're already Genin!" Naruto protested.

"Not entirely," Kurenai replied, "today you will be having one final examination to determine if you are worthy to be Genin."

"Then what the hell were all those tests for in the Academy?!" Kiba demanded, the others obviously wanting to know as well. Akamaru barked to voice his opinion.

"Simply put, it was to test if you might have the skills necessary to be Genin," a new voice stated. The six Genin, one ninken, and Kurenai all turned their heads to see the speaker.

The speaker was a male Konoha shinobi, about nine centimeters taller than Kurenai. He was leanly built and wore the standard Konoha shinobi uniform, only his was a lighter blue compared to the darker navy blue worn by most of the other Jounin and Chuunin. He wore dark green gloves with semi-flexible metal plates on the back of the hands. He had brown hair swept up by his hitai-ate, with two silver bangs framing the spiral leaf symbol of Konoha. Piercing pale green eyes gazed upon the seven (plus Akamaru and however many bugs are inside Shino) evenly, his faced betraying no emotion. Strapped to his back wasn't the standard ANBU ninja-tou, but a full katana.

Kurenai smiled. "Ah, Jiyumaru-san, it seems that you're early. How long were you listening? Team 7, this is your sensei, Kenshin Jiyumaru."

"I caught the full introductions, Kurenai-san," the man, now identified as Team 7's sensei, Kenshin Jiyumaru, bowed politely, "I left early to make time, though the Clan Elders really had nothing to say, other than to question my change of status from ANBU captain to Jounin sensei."

That piece of information caught in the ears of the six Genin. This man was just recently an ANBU _captain_? That meant he was quite powerful, indeed. Sasuke smirked. If he was that strong, then perhaps he would be able to help him grow strong enough to defeat _that_ man.

Kurenai nodded. "I see. So, what do you think of them?"

"A bit too early to tell," Jiyumaru remarked, "but they _seem_ promising. All six of them have great potential, just waiting to be unlocked."

"Yeah right, like _Naruto_ has any skill whatsoever," Sakura scoffed.

Jiyumaru smirked. Upon seeing it, Kurenai knew that the Haruno girl was about to be taught a small lesson.

"Is that so? Well then. Naruto, would you please show your fellow Genin your newest jutsu, to the best of your ability?"

Naruto blinked and looked around the small clearing. "um, sensei, are you sure there's enough room?"

"Yes, now show your teammate the jutsu that enabled you to get this far," Jiyumaru ordered.

"Yes sir!" Naruto grinned, face taking on a determined look as his hands move into the hand seal before he let out a yell. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!"

At first, the Genin and Kurenai are sure that their eyes are playing tricks on them, because Naruto seemed to be blurring before their very eyes. Hinata's eyes widened as a blush spread across her cheeks at the sight of so many copies of the object of her affections being formed.

"phht, big deal, so he finally got Bunshin no jutsu down," Kiba scoffed, "they're just illusions."

"oh yeah, dog breath?" Naruto smirked, two of the clones smacking the Inuzuka over the head,

'Those clones, that's what he used on me earlier,' Sasuke noted, 'but when did the dobe learn such a jutsu, and how?'

'No way, Naruto used solid clones?' Sakura thought in shock, 'how did the dead last learn such a jutsu?'

'Naruto-kun, you're just amazing!' Hinata thought, her blush dimming slightly as she regained control of herself.

Jiyumaru whistled softly. "Now that's a lot of Kage Bunshin. I doubt I could make that many clones, much less functional ones. You got potential, kiddo."

Naruto beamed under the praise, a faint blush covering his cheeks.

"Er, Jiyumaru-sensei, just what are these, and how did a baka like Naruto learn it?" Sakura asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Jiyumaru pondered the question for a moment before deciding to answer. "These are Kage Bunshin, a much more advanced version of the simple Bunshin technique. In fact, it's a Jounin level Kinjutsu, a B-ranked Forbidden Technique. These clones are solid, capable of taking and dealing damage. They're quite useful if you have the chakra reserves to use them, as they can also use whatever jutsu the user can, provided they themselves have the chakra for it. I use them to practice my taijutsu and kenjutsu in my spare time, like most other Jounin who can perform the technique. As for how he learned it, that's for him to tell."

Naruto looked uncomfortable at the idea of telling how he learned Kage Bunshin, considering he DID break a few laws, and he'd risk letting slip about the bastard fox as well.

"Well Jiyumaru-san," Kurenai spoke up, "since you arrived in time, and heard everyone's introductions, you may as well give your own."

Jiyumaru chuckled. "Sure, why not. My name is Kenshin Jiyumaru. I like oranges, the few friends I have, forging my own weapons, and reading. Especially reading. I dislike those who would willingly slay their own family without cause, those who disrespect others for no reason, and traitors. Well, I don't really have a dream at the moment. I've pretty much accomplished most of what I want in life, though if you three pass my test my new dream will be to train you to be the best you can be. I do have a goal at the moment and that's to bring about the death of an old teammate of mine who is now a missing-nin. Whether I kill him personally or help the one who does gain the ability needed to do it, as long as I'm involved in some way I'll be content. Hobbies… well, I do like fishing, and sometimes I stargaze."

'He seems almost…normal,' Sakura noted to herself, 'maybe the test won't be so hard after all, even though he's a former ANBU captain. They're supposed to be quirky.'

'So, he hates people like _him_,' Sasuke noted to himself, 'he'll definitely help me train to defeat that man.'

'Is this guy for real?' Naruto thought, 'huh, so he has someone he wants to see dead too. Ah well, he can't be that bad. He said he'll help us reach the top, and that's right where I'm going! Yeah, definitely!'

Jiyumaru clapped his hands together, a gleam in his eyes as he smirked at the six Genin. Even Shino shivered at the slightly sadistic look in his eyes. "Alright now, as Kurenai-san has said, you have a test to see if you're fully ready to become Genin. Now, since each Jounin has a different test, I must ask my students to follow me to Training Ground 3 where I will administer the torture, I mean test."

Whistling cheerily, Jiyumaru hopped away, leaving Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto to glance amongst themselves, Naruto and Sakura nervously and Sasuke just giving his teammates an annoyed glance, as if daring them to hold him back. As they turned back in the direction their sensei had gone, they blinked as they realized that he'd left them behind, and they had no idea where to go.

"Um, Kurenai-sensei, could you possibly tell us where Training Ground 7 is?" Sakura asked politely.

* * *

-at Training Ground 7-

Upon arriving at Training Ground 7, the three Genin found their sensei talking to a silver-haired Jounin wearing his hitai-ate over his left eye.

"Ah, so you're here. Took you long enough."

"What?! You just left us there in the dust!" Naruto yelled, "what kind of sensei just leaves his students behind to fend for themselves?!"

"I knew Kurenai-san would tell you where to find the training ground," Jiyumaru replied blandly.

"What?! So you just foist responsibility of us on another Jounin?!" Naruto demanded hotly.

"Now now, calm down kid," Jiyumaru said, trying to calm his would-be student down, "I won't be 'foisting' responsibility of you off on others, at least not without a good reason. I will, should you pass this test, be asking other Jounin to take time to train you in areas that they are better than me at. I was thinking of asking Kurenai-san to teach Sakura-san Genjutsu, since her Academy records indicate that Sakura-san would be talented in that area and Kurenai-san is a Genjutsu Mistress, one of the best in in the world in fact. Hatake Kakashi, here, will be taking Sasuke-san on for individual training on occasion at a later date once certain circumstances are met."

Kakashi raised a hand in greeting at the three Genin. "Yo."

Sasuke let out a snort. "So you will be having others pick up your responsibilities."

Jiyumaru gave Sasuke a stern look. "My duty as your sensei is to make sure you have the best training you can possibly receive. Yuuhi Kurenai is the best Genjutsu user active in the village, and Sakura-san would be a perfect student for her. The only reasons she didn't end up under Kurenai-san's command was because she personally requested that Hyuuga Hinata be put under her care, and because as the top kunoichi in the graduating class she had to be placed on this team. And since Uzumaki-san placed last in ranking, that solidified your team structure."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Naruto demanded.

Jiyumaru sighed. "It has been a tradition for many years, long before I became a shinobi, that the Rookie of the Year and one of the other top students to be placed on the same team as the one who had the lowest scores. Even the Densetsu no Sannin were no exception. But the three of them show that, with a good sensei and a lot of hard work, that even the worst in a class can become great."

Jiyumaru let the three Genin-hopefuls absorb that information for a few moments before continuing. "And should you pass this test, you _will_ be worked hard. My ANBU squad always referred to me as a hard taskmaster, setting nearly impossible standards for them to reach and then driving them to reach them. And I will do the same to you. You may very well hate me before you reach Chuunin, and will likely be working together to plot my demise before the first week is out. _Everything_ you've been through up to now will seem like a relaxing vacation compared to the training you will undergo while under my care. But it will pay off. To quote a fellow Jounin, 'hard work pays off far more than _mere_ genius'."

"um, sensei, is such a thing true?" Sakura asked, seeing Sasuke's disbelieving scowl.

Jiyumaru nodded. "Even the greatest of shinobi, from each of the four Hokage, to the three Sannin, to many other great shinobi not only within Konoha but the other villages as well, have all worked hard to become as great and as feared or respected as they are. Though many were born with natural genius, they worked hard to supplement that genius. That is what made them truly great. The ability to recognize their own limitations, and to strive to become better. You never truly stop growing stronger, even in old age. Its just that by the time you become old, where you body is not as strong as it once was like Hokage-sama's, you have so much experience and battle tactics that you can easily make up for your physical weakness. And even so, I still wouldn't wish to be in even a purely physical fight with the likes of Hokage-sama."

"phht, why _is_ that old man considered so strong, anyway?" Naruto demanded, mentally adding, 'after all, I can take him out with my Orioke no jutsu.'

Naruto felt a light tap on his head. He whirled around to glare at the person only to come face to face with the silver-haired Jounin, Kakashi, his lone visible eye 'crinkled in amusement, forming an upside down "U". "You just doubted Hokage-sama, didn't you?"

Naruto gaped at the odd Jounin while Jiyumaru chuckled. "The Sandaime Hokage wasn't the most feared shinobi in the world in his day for nothing, and the power he still possesses enabled Konoha to stand free of direct attack even after the devastation wrought on the village by the Kyuubi no Youko twelve years ago."

Jiyumaru gave a slight frown as he noticed Naruto wince at the mention of the great foxes attack. 'I know he's not the Kyuubi, but….is he feeling guilt over what the fox did? This may bear looking into.'

"And it is his power that kept Konoha free from attack when _Uchiha Itachi_ killed all of his clan, save for his younger brother."

Both Naruto and Sakura turned to look at the scowling Sasuke in surprise.

'He aims to kill his own brother?' Naruto wondered.

'No wonder…Sasuke-kun said I was annoying,' Sakura thought, 'he..he doesn't have any parents either….an orphan, just like Naruto.'

"So, do not doubt someone like Hokage-sama, just because they don't seem like much," Jiyumaru finished, "appearances can be deceiving, so you must look underneath the underneath. After all, several of the greatest shinobi in the world don't look or act like much."

Kakashi gave another 'eye smile'. "This is true. I can name several shinobi who you wouldn't want to mess with, but look really…odd."

Jiyumaru chuckled, knowing the cycloptic Jounin was thinking of Maito Gai. The eccentric taijutsu specialist was one of the oddest shinobi in the world, yet there was no denying his abilities. There were others who were eccentric as well in their own way, but were still incredibly powerful shinobi. And some ended up becoming eccentric to deal with the stress of missions. Jiyumaru just hoped that _he_ had avoided such a fate by stepping out of ANBU.

"Now, it is time for your test," Jiyumaru told the three Genin.

"What kind of test is it?" Naruto asked excitedly, "a fight? Rescue someone? Recover some stolen village artifact?"

Jiyumaru laughed while Kakashi chuckled. My what an imagination the boy had!

"Nope, sorry, stuff like that is usually a B-ranked mission, though you will be fighting."

"Who will we be fighting, sensei?" Sakura asked.

Jiyumaru grinned. "Me."

"What?!" Jiyumaru's statement was met by a shout from the three surprised Genin. Well, Sakura and Naruto, at least. Sasuke just scowled.

"But sensei, you're a Jounin and we're only Genin, new Genin!" Sakura protested.

"Yeah, how the hell is that fair?!" Naruto demanded.

"Because I'll be holding back," Jiyumaru replied as he reached into a pocket of his vest and pulled out two small silver bells. "The object of this test is to get these two bells. Get one, and you pass. Don't get one, and you'll be sent back to the Academy."

"But there's only two bells," Sakura pointed out.

"That's right," Jiyumaru replied, "it means that no matter what, _one_ of you will be going back to the Academy."

"What?! How the hell is that fair? We worked hard to get this far!" Naruto was outraged. After all he'd been through to finally graduate, and now this guy said there was a one in three chance at best that he'd fail? No way in hell!

"You may have worked hard, but so have others," Jiyumaru replied sternly, "to tell the truth, I have my doubts about how effective this _team_ can be, if it can even be called that."

Jiyumaru replaced the bells inside his vest. "Now, I will be conducting your exam tomorrow, since I'm unprepared to properly administer it. Honestly expected those blowhards in the Clan to keep me all day, sorry about that. Go home and rest. Don't do any training, either you're ready or you're not at this point, and you shouldn't overexert your body because you'll need all your strength tomorrow."

The three Genin looked shocked at Jiyumaru's statement while Kakashi just "smiled". Jiyumaru looked from one Genin to the next, gauging their reactions.

"Now, go home and get a good night's sleep. Go to bed early even. Be here at 8am sharp tomorrow morning and you will face your final test to become a full-fledged Konoha shinobi. Eat a good, solid meal tonight. That means _more_ than just ramen for you, Uzumaki. That was actually in your file, how much you eat the stuff. But, _don't_ eat any breakfast. You'll just throw up."

With those final words, Jiyumaru motioned for the Genin to leave, which they do in a variety of moods. Naruto was psyched for the test, and loudly proclaimed that he would ace it. Sakura seemed worried about her chances, obviously believing it would be a physical test, and she had been among the worst in the class in the physical aspects of being a shinobi, though she wasn't terrible either. She just needed training. Sasuke seemed impassive.

Once the three Genin had left, Jiyumaru turned to Kakashi. "So, did I do it right, Kakashi-senpai?"

Kakashi shrugged. "You gave all the right warnings, though you did hint at them being a team. Giving them a chance, Jiyumaru?"

Jiyumaru nodded. "They can be good with the right motivation. A solid, dependable team with multiple uses. It'll take some work to knock off their rough edges, but if they shape up right, they could even be ready for the next Chuunin Exam."

"You think they can do that well?" Kakashi asked in surprise. Jiyumaru never gave compliments like that needlessly.

"Senpai, I believe every shinobi has great potential. It's the path we take to unlock it determines how much we _can_ unlock. The Uchiha's path as an avenger will end up destroying him, and could even severely harm Konoha. I intend to bring him down off his high horse as quickly as possible. Haruno needs to forget her obsession with the Uchiha, which should happen once he's knocked off his high horse. Though if that doesn't work I'll go the route of suggesting he might notice her if she was stronger. Since one of his goals is to revive his clan he'd want his children to have a strong mother."

"A bit underhanded, don't you think?" Kakashi asked dryly as he pulled his familiar orange book out of a vest pocket. Jiyumaru gave his elder an annoyed look at the sight of the book. "What about Uzumaki? He's a total mess, according to his records."

Jiyumaru was silent for a moment, then he began to speak. "The best thing he has going for him right now is his drive to succeed. I can work with that. His chakra capacity is incredible as well. He created _hundreds_ of Kage Bunshin without accessing _its_ chakra and he didn't seem the least bit tired."

Kakashi perked up at that. "Hundreds, you say? You're thinking of teaching him the training method, aren't you?"

Jiyumaru shook his head. "I need to ground him some first. Give him something else to work on. He really only knows Kage Bunshin, Henge, and that Orioke no jutsu he developed."

"Yes, that, I'm not surprised the Hokage tried to make it a forbidden jutsu," Kakashi said dryly as he flipped a page, giving a perverted giggle as he read on.

"Besides those, though, his skills are pathetic. His taijutsu is passable, if only because he has the stamina to come back from a beating quickly. Against a decent shinobi though he'd be in trouble, but he'll make an excellent sparring partner for Uchiha once he learns a bit."

Jiyumaru chuckled. "Besides, you know what I think of taking shortcuts to the extreme."

"Yes, of course," Kakashi answered, only half-listening now. He was getting to the really good part now.

"You don't mind helping me train Uchiha, do you Kakashi-senpai?" Jiyumaru asked, a small tic forming over one eye, though it couldn't be seen due to his hitai-ate.

"Hmmm no, no, don't mind at all," Kakashi replied distractedly. Jiyumaru gave a disgusted sigh.

"I'll leave you to your porn, senpai." With that Jiyumaru disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

During that evening, the Jounin sensei of Team 7 was meeting with the other two new Jounin senseis, Yuuhi Kurenai of Team 8 who his team had already met, and Sarutobi Asuma of Team 10. Asuma was one of the few other wielders of wind nature chakra residing within Konoha, like Jiyumaru himself, a talent that made him one of the best in Konoha at close range combat with his trench knives. The three Jounin were gathered in a small café, Kurenai and Asuma drinking sake while Jiyumaru drank fruit juice, as even the smallest drop of alcohol turned him into someone he didn't like.

"So, how badly did the old man screw us all over in our teams?" Jiyumaru asked dryly, causing Asuma to give a short snort of laughter.

"Well, my team seems to be pretty well balanced," Kurenai admitted, "Hyuuga Hinata is painfully shy, but I know I can break her out of her shell. I know there's an exceptional kunoichi, perhaps the best in her generation, just lurking underneath her shy exterior. Inuzuka Kiba is loud, brash, and arrogant, but he's also pretty focused when it comes to getting stronger and protecting his 'pack', which consists of his team. And Aburame Shino is quiet, so much so you almost forget he is there as much as you would Hinata, and you can quickly forget she's around because she just doesn't put herself forward."

"The Aburame are always pretty composed," Jiyumaru agreed, "Shibi's a bit more outspoken than most, but he's also the clan representative to the rest of Konoha and their spokesman on the Village Council. What about you Asuma?"

"Well, I'll admit I didn't get the best Genin that graduated this year," Asuma began, "but I don't think they're hopeless. With a little work, they could surpass their fathers."

"The Ino-Shika-Chou combination is powerful," Jiyumaru admitted, "but how would they fare by themselves?"

Asuma's expression soured. "Rather poorly, I'll admit. I can't even decide which one is best off. Chouji'd rather eat, Shikamaru would rather watch clouds, and Ino would rather obsess about the Uchiha boy."

"At least you don't have him," Jiyumaru groused, "I have him, a girl hopelessly infatuated with him, and Uzumaki Naruto who is hopelessly infatuated with the Uchiha fangirl."

Asuma winced in sympathy. "At least tell me they're competent."

"Not entirely sure yet," Jiyumaru admitted, "I wanted to use Kakashi-senpai's bell test on them, so I won't know until tomorrow."

Asuma stared at Jiyumaru for a bit then chuckled. "Gonna put them through the ringer, eh?"

Jiyumaru nodded. "oh yeah. Anyway, I take it your teams passed?"

Asuma nodded. "Ino may be self-centered, but she apparently _is_ serious about being a shinobi. That or the thought of Sakura staying a shinobi and being with the Uchiha boy drove her to boss her teammates into helping her. They managed to complete the tactical test I gave them, and rather well I might add. They're definitely a team that has to use their jutsu strategically, but like their father's showed they can have near-perfect synergy."

Kurenai nodded in agreement. "The recon test I gave my team was challenging for them, but they passed with flying colors. Both Kiba and Hinata have excellent tracking abilities, and Shino is quite gifted. I suspect he held himself back in the Academy."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Jiyumaru admitted, "the Aburame are secretive, but they are highly effective shinobi. They don't use most normal jutsu, relying almost entirely on their clan jutsu instead, but then they've designed jutsu to replace normal jutsu. Though having bugs inside their bodies is kinda creepy."

Kurenai shivered, nodding in agreement while Asuma chuckled. The older Jounin was quite familiar with the Shino boy's father, Shibi, having teamed with him on several missions. He once mentioned that Shino was the best their clan had produced in a generation, and would one day surpass them all. And any praise from an Aburame was incredible, but praise like that? The boy had to be _good_ to warrant such praise, even from his own father.

"So, you're following Kakashi's lead on the test?" Asuma asked Jiyumaru.

"Pretty much," Jiyumaru replied, "since the purpose of the test is to judge teamwork, I could have given it today, but I wanted to see what the full extremes looked like, so I'm holding it tomorrow morning. At least I won't make them wait hours on end like Kakashi-sempai would have."

"So, you think they'll pass your test?" Asuma asked.

"Not a chance," Jiyumaru shot back, "but because of Council orders I have to pass the team because the Uchiha is on it. Though it was a near thing, since Uzumaki is on the team as well."

"They don't want him growing strong, do they?" Asuma asked, continuing at Jiyumaru's nod, "the fools. Can't they see he's nothing more than _it_'_s_ prison, and not _it_? I mean, if he _was_, how wise is it to piss it off by treating the boy poorly?"

"It's like sensei always told me," Jiyumaru began, "people are stupid. They'll believe anything they want to if they fear it to be true or want it to be true. In this case, they fear that he is _it_."

"Did he have any other grand words of wisdom like that?" Kurenai asked. That saying was a prime example of why Genjutsu was so effective, even if could also be easily dispelled by a skilled shinobi and usually only subdued the target.

"Just to always watch yourself in Grass Country," Jiyumaru admitted, "there's snakes everywhere and there's nothing so uncomfortable as getting ready to use the bathroom only to have a snake bite you in the ass."

"Was he speaking from experience?" Kurenai asked with a soft giggle.

"Dunno," Jiyumaru shrugged, "anyway, I'm looking forward to the test. There's just something about those three… I think if I can get Haruno and Uzumaki to take this seriously and with a level head, and get Uchiha to open up, they could be a truly formidable force."

"Exactly what kind of team are you planning on building?" Asuma asked, "I've got the new Ino-Shika-Chou trio, though I just don't know what to do with them. I mean, one's a slacker, one's a glutton, and the last is a loudmouthed little shrew. And Kurenai's got a recon and spy team. So, how're you gonna work your team?"

Jiyumaru is silent as he thought things through. Truthfully, because of the way his team had been designed, there wasn't really _anything_ he could do with them other than train them to be an all-around team. The Uchiha could fit anywhere once he activated his Sharingan, and the Haruno girl could easily learn Genjutsu to confuse opponents. And Uzumaki… He began to grin.

"I think… I could train them to become an assault team," Jiyumaru said with a proud grin, "it'll take work, but it's doable."

Asuma stared at Jiyumaru, his cigarette falling out of his mouth. "Are you crazy?! There hasn't been a full-fledged assault team since…"

"Since the Sannin," Jiyumaru finished, "I know it's been tried several times before, with each team falling short by member's dying before they reached their potential, but these three are our best chance to make one this generation. Uzumaki isn't bound by clan traditions or a lack of ability to mold chakra like Gai's protégé, and Uchiha Sasuke is, well, an Uchiha. If he should develop a sufficiently large chakra reserve, and he's bound to once he activates his Sharingan so he can utilize the jutsu it copies, then he'd be perfect to learning and analyzing enemy jutsu and passing them onto his team. The main problem there is he's not a team player."

"The Uchiha rarely were," Asuma reminded the younger Jounin, "you should know that."

Jiyumaru gave a curt nod. "In any event, I see the potential in them. With Uzumaki's chakra reserves and overall lack of training, his control is rather pitiful, but that is remedied easily. The hardest task of all may be in training him to discipline himself."

"Don't you enjoy challenges like that?" Asuma asked with a smirk. Jiyumaru was well known for training discipline into new recruits in ANBU, as his squad was a transitional squad between normal shinobi duties and ANBU duties, a task he had taken up from Kakashi before the Jounin had left ANBU himself.

Jiyumaru smirked in return. "Trust me when I say those kids are gonna see Hell. They'll wish they had Maito Gai training them before the week is out. At least the training he gives his protégé is lighter."

With that, Jiyumaru left a shuddering Asuma and Kurenai behind to finish their meal, pondering the kind of training Jiyumaru was planning on giving his Genin if they would be envious of Gai's team.

* * *

That night, three new Genin rested, awaiting the trials of the next day. One sat alone in an apartment, slurping up a bowl of cup ramen and eating some fruits and vegetables given to him by his old Academy instructor. One sat alone, in a mostly-abandoned section of Konoha, with no company, and no visitors as he ate in silence. And the third sat with her father and mother, enjoying a normal family dinner. Tomorrow, they would test to become Genin. Tomorrow, they would meet their destiny.

And along with those three Genin, one Jounin ate alone, chuckling every so often. Those three kids were in for the toughest test they had faced yet. But if they were up to it, if they were worthy, if they showed that they had the guts, and the will to succeed, then perhaps they would one day become…legends.

-0-0-0-

Kenshin Jiyumaru is a joint creation between myself and UmbreonMessiah, and first appears in his story Dragonheart (though he was modified to fit in the Dragonheart Naruto-verse better). His abilities and parts of his origin were changed and lessened there, but here they will be in (most of) their original planned glory. Had to toss some idea's out since they weren't suitable… for this incarnation of Jiyumaru.

You can find UmbreonMessiah's own work, and a different version of Jiyumaru, in his story Dragonheart, StoryID 326315


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kenshin Jiyumaru is mine though.

"talking"

'thinking'

"_Jutsu"_

"**demon/"**

"_**Inner Sakura talking**_"

'**demon thinking'**

-0-0-0-

The sun rose on the horizon of Konoha, bringing in the dawn of a new day. At this hour of the day, only a few were awake, most of them shinobi. Maito Gai and his protégé, Rock Lee, were already awake and hard at work in training in the 'Springtime of their Youth'.

Even the Hokage, old as he was, was up and about, doing his duties. Currently he was looking over the test results from the previous day's Genin Finals. The only team not to have a record yet was Jiyumaru's Team 7, and that was why he had summoned the Jounin to his office, to get an explanation. Jiyumaru was always punctual with his results, and was one of the most reliable shinobi in the village. Discrepancies were most unusual for him.

The door opened to reveal Jiyumaru. As the Jounin stepped in, the Sandaime took note that the man did seem… lighter, more at ease, now that he was no longer in ANBU. It seemed that allowing him to retire from ANBU had been a good decision after all. His talent would be missed in the ANBU ranks, though.

"You requested my presence, Hokage-sama?" Jiyumaru asked as he stood to attention before the Hokage.

"Ah, Jiyumaru, impeccable timing as always," the Sandaime said, motioning for Jiyumaru to stand at ease, "yes, it seems there is a discrepancy in your team report. To be precise, you haven't filed one yet."

"That, sir, is because I have not yet given my test," Jiyumaru replied evenly, "I have decided to take a page of out Kakashi-senpai's book, not his porn that is, and utilize the bell test. Currently, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke are under orders not to eat breakfast. Upon their arrival at the training ground I have designated as the location for our test, they will be given until noon to retrieve the two bells from me, as well as an… additional, test. During that time all three of them will be tested in their capabilities to use and counter Taijutsu, Genjutsu, and Ninjutsu, as well as their proficiency in kunai and shuriken and to think tactically and strategically. Since they are fresh Genin and none of them have any training, I won't be testing them in Kenjutsu."

"No doubt you'll train them in some form of it yourself should they pass," the Hokage commented, to which Jiyumaru gave a nod of confirmation.

"I don't know what kind of style, or maybe even styles, would suit them. I can tell you right now none of them are suited for a proper katana, though if any of them ever enter ANBU I may reconsider, just to give them a better style than what is taught to the ANBU."

"If you feel that strongly about it, you could retrain Konoha's ANBU forces when your assignment with Team 7 is over," the Hokage offered.

"You know I can't teach my clan styles to such a broad number unless I am their personal sensei, namely a sensei of a Genin squad, Hokage-sama," Jiyumaru answered, "otherwise I would have taught my squad. Yuugao especially could have benefited from the training."

The Hokage nodded, expecting nothing less from the Jounin, then returned the conversation to its original subject. "Are you planning on being as strict as Kakashi on your students?"

Jiyumaru took a few moments to mull over the idea, then shook his not. "Not in the same way he would have. I _do_ plan on making it difficult on them, possibly harder than Kakashi-senpai in the testing, but I'm not as hard to impress on teamwork as he is. They'll have a fair chance. And since I have my orders to pass them anyway, instead of determining whether or not they become shinobi, this test will determine how much leeway I will grant them."

Continuing on, Jiyumaru began to explain the kind of training he would be putting his students through , as well as the full account of what his additional test would entail. The Hokage winced in sympathy. It was training regimen like that that gave Jiyumaru his status as the harshest taskmaster in ANBU. The talk dragged on for nearly two hours as Jiyumaru outlined his plans for the exercise, covering the base details and what he expected of the three Genin, and what they could possibly do to pass the test.

Their conversation finished, the Hokage dismissed Jiyumaru, looking out the window as a small flock of birds flew by. "Good luck, Team 7. You're gonna need it with this one."

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto was not stupid, despite what many others thought. No, limited was a better description of him. Limited, and incomplete. Even he would admit that he lacked training in some of the finer arts of the shinobi. His accuracy with kunai and shuriken was still subpar, his taijutsu was terrible, his genjutsu was nonexistent, he had a limited number of ninjutsu, and his chakra control just plain sucked. On the plus side, his stamina and chakra reserves were practically off the charts, his stealth was nearly Jounin level, if not better, despite the bright orange clothes he wore, and his abilities in trap making were actually second only to Nara Shikamaru in their graduating class. Of course, Naruto was one of the few who knew this little tidbit, as the Nara was so lazy he never even wrote his name down on his test papers. At least he did that much!

As the blond fox container climbed out of his bed as the sun rose, he went about his morning rituals with more cheer than normal. Today was the day he would become an official Genin of Konoha! He'd pass that test, with or without the help of Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan! Of course, he hoped Sakura-chan passed too, and not Sasuke-teme, so the two of them could be alone more, and then she could see how great he was without that arrogant prick distracting her.

As he finished getting dressed, he had to force himself to not to heat up the water for his usual cup ramen breakfast. Instead, he decided to head out to get an early start. Unfortunately for him, the smell of Ichiraku's drew him in and he found himself drawn to the ramen bar, which was always open early and closed late. Pulling himself into a seat, he called out his order.

"Hey ji-san, one cup of tea!"

"ah, Naruto, you're up early today, aren't ya?" the jocular ramen cook replied with a wide grin, "and what, no ramen this time?"

"Ohayo, Naruto-kun," Ayame, the cook's daughter, said as she brought the blond his tea.

"Ohayo, nee-san," Naruto chirped as he settled into his seat.

"So, Naruto-kun, are you ready for your test today?" Ayame asked. Naruto had informed the two of them of the test his team would have to perform, and she couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Naruto was in for one big surprise!

"You got it!" Naruto said cheerily, "I'm gonna kick ass today! Jiyumaru-sensei won't know what hit 'im!"

Ayame shared a knowing look with her father. "Well, Naruto-kun, I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. But you shouldn't be overconfident. After all, he is a Jounin, and didn't you mention he said he was a former ANBU? They only let the very best of the best into ANBU. Even if he's holding back, the level he'll be fighting at will still probably exceed yours."

Ayame ruffled Naruto's hair affectionately, ignoring the indignant squawk from the foxboy. "And you shouldn't take this challenge at face value. Aren't you ninja's supposed to look 'underneath the underneath', and see the hidden meanings and reasonings behind things?"

Naruto pondered the waitress' words for a few minutes. She was right, wasn't she? Ninja's were supposed to look at all the angles. But what other angle could there be? They were supposed to fight Jiyumaru-sensei, and try to take two bells from him, the one who doesn't get a bell gets sent back to the Academy. But then, why make them not eat? It couldn't be like Jiyumaru-sensei said, that they'd throw up. They'd have to put a ridiculous amount of strain on their bodies to do that.

As Naruto pondered things over, Ayame traded a wink with her father. "Well Naruto-kun, don't you have a time you need to meet your sensei?"

Naruto blinked and checked the time on the clock on the wall. "Shit! I gotta go! I'll pay for the tea when I get back for dinner or lunch or something. Damn, I'm gonna be late!"

With that, the orange-clad blond took off, swearing profusely about crazy teacher's and the hours they made him get up. So deep into his rant was he that he did not see where he was going, and collided with a certain blonde kunoichi, knocking them both for a loop. As he regained his senses, he could hear a girl's voice letting out a moan of pain and embarrassment. Reaching with one hand to pull the cloth object off his head, he opened his eyes to see a pair of creamy white thighs on either side of his face. His mind abruptly shut down as he registered what he saw at their juncture.

It started back up, however, at Yamanaka Ino's indignant shriek of "PERVERT!" as she slammed a fist into Naruto's skull. Groaning, but not out yet, Naruto rolled to the side to avoid a head stomp and managed to jump to his feet. He took one look at the irate kunoichi glaring daggers at him, looking ready to kill and/or maim. With a gulp, he turned and ran, a very mad Ino hot on his heels.

* * *

Haruno Sakura had cleanly earned the status as the number one kunoichi in her graduating class. She'd scored well in taijutsu, and performed well in basic ninjutsu and even tested out as being a genjutsu type. Her accuracy with kunai and shuriken was slightly above average, but nothing special. Not like that kunoichi she'd heard of that had graduated in the previous year. Above all she had scored the highest out of everyone in their graduating class on the written exam, something she was quite proud of.

Now as the sun rose gracefully over Konoha, she finished her morning routine, fastening her hitai-ate in her hair stylishly. She was real proud of graduating. She was the first in her family to do so, the rest having all simply gone through the required basics of education, then going on to get a more civilian-oriented education elsewhere.

She sat down with her parents, both quite happy with their daughter. They were worried about her, the life of a shinobi was dangerous after all, but they supported her in her decisions.

"ah, Sakura-chan, your up," her mother, Haruno Ran said as she finished setting the table, "I was just about to call you. Breakfast is ready, dear."

"ano, kaa-san, I can't eat breakfast." At her mother's startled look, she elaborated. "Jiyumaru-sensei gave us orders not to eat anything today before our exam, or we'd throw it up."

"Well, I must say its sound advice if your just gonna throw it back up, but you still need your strength," her mother said firmly, "you're a growing girl, and you need to eat."

"A shinobi must always follow the orders of his or her superiors," Sakura quoted. She was proud to have memorized the Shinobi Code by heart. It was one of the reasons why she had scored so high on her written exam.

"That's nice dear, but are you sure it's a good idea?" Ran asked her daughter again, "it's not healthy to skip a meal like that."

"I have to do it, kaa-san," Sakura said resolutely, "orders are orders."

Ran sighed. "I guess you can't argue with orders. Yoshino is the same way about her orders and missions."

Sakura knew that Yoshino was Nara Yoshino, the mother of one of her classmates Nara Shikamaru, the laziest boy in the class. Apparently, their mother's had taken the basic Academy exams together before Yoshino continued on with her shinobi training and her mom went on to the civilian school. They remained friends to this day, though their children weren't all that close.

"Thanks, kaa-san," Sakura smiled genuinely, before checking the time. "Kaa-san, I gotta go. We're having our final test today."

"Really? I thought you completed that two days ago," Ran asked, curious.

"Well, it seems that test was just to see who was good enough," Sakura replied, "our Jounin sensei is going to be giving us our final test to see if we're worthy."

'I'm definitely gonna pass and be with Sasuke-kun!' Sakura said mentally, her Inner Sakura cheering her on with a "_**Shannaro!**_", pumping her fists in the air within Sakura's mindscape.

After a bit of tea, Sakura took off, heading towards the training ground where the test would be done. Before she got far, however, she was almost run over by Naruto. Briefly wondering why he was going in the opposite direction of the training ground, her question is answered immediately by her rival, Yamanaka Ino, coming into view, chasing the annoying blond, screeching "Come back her you little pervert!".

Shaking her head at her soon-to-be-former teammate's antics, Sakura continued on, her spirits lifted at the thought of the beating Ino was going to give Naruto.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke didn't like many things. Oh, sure, he claimed he liked nothing, but there WERE a few things he did like. He didn't like those annoying fangirls, especially those harpies Sakura and Ino. Didn't they get he didn't _want_ a relationship right now? He was twelve, for kami's sake! He did like training, and silence. But that was about it. He didn't like 'hanging out', or socializing. He didn't like being the center of attention to all the girls who were just starting to hit puberty, and some a few years older. Well, there was the Hyuuga girl, Hinata, who had her eyes on the dobe, Naruto, all the time. What she saw in him, Sasuke often wondered about, but always ended up shrugging it off as inconsequential.

He also didn't like being told by his Jounin sensei not to eat breakfast, or that he, the Rookie of the Year, would have to fight for his chance to continue being a Genin and not be sent back to the Academy. He was an Uchiha. Uchiha didn't get sent back to the Academy. He was already far behind his brother. Itachi had activated his Sharingan and graduated from the Academy at age _seven. _He'd mastered his Sharingan at _eight._ And to further add to it, Itachi had gained access to an entirely _new_ level of Sharingan, just before slaughtering their entire clan.

As he finished his morning routine, sans breakfast, he stepped out of his home within the old Uchiha District. The ghostly section of Konoha had once been populated by the great Uchiha Clan, as well as the center for the Konoha Military Police, but the entire population had been decimated by his older brother. Even now, as he walked through the empty streets, he could still see where each member of his clan, his family, had fallen, thanks to being forced to live through the massacre due to his brother's Mangekyou Sharingan.

Upon finally exiting the Uchiha district, Sasuke was forced to stop as Naruto, chased by a screaming Ino, ran past him. Quirking an eyebrow in amusement, wondering what the dobe had done to warrant such a volatile reaction from the blonde kunoichi, Sasuke watched the two disappear in the distance. Shrugging it off as unimportant, Sasuke walked on to the training ground.

* * *

Kenshin Jiyumaru did not have to wait long for his team to arrive. Or at least, for Sasuke and Sakura to arrive. It was ten minutes after eight, and Naruto still had yet to show up.

"Uzumaki's late," Jiyumaru remarked, "unusual. The records state that he's always on time for things of consequence."

Sakura chuckled. "Baka's probably still running from Ino-pig."

Jiyumaru quirked an eyebrow at his female subordinate, thinking back to the Academy reports about who she could be talking about. Ah, yes, Inoichi-san's daughter.. "And why would Uzumaki be running from Yamanaka Ino?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know, Jiyumaru-sensei, but the last I saw him was half an hour ago, and she was chasing him all through the village."

Jiyumaru sighed. Leave it to his most trouble-making student to do just that, get into trouble. Hopefully, though, it was just an accident, whatever it was. If it wasn't, well, Naruto would learn sooner or later he didn't tolerate disobedience.

It was almost half past eight when Naruto finally appeared, running up to the training ground, panting.

"Sorry I'm late, Jiyumaru-sensei, I.."

"I will take no excuses, Uzumaki!" Jiyumaru barked sharply, "a shinobi must not be tardy! Tardiness can cause a mission to fail, and cost the lives of your teammates!"

"I'm, I'm sorry, Jiyumaru-sensei, it won't happen again," Naruto proclaimed. Jiyumaru stared levelly at the fox container.

"Uzumaki Naruto, because you are late, I am prepared to fail this team here and now, without the test." Smirking inwardly at the outraged looks on all three Genin, he continued. "However, I am required by the Council to give you a fair test. However, Uzumaki, you must first complete three hundred push-ups, and two hundred squats."

"WHAT?!"

"Do you wish to double it?" Jiyumaru asked blandly, "now, start up!"

Grumbling darkly, Naruto dropped to the ground and began his punishment, Sakura and Sasuke quelled into silence by a glare from Jiyumaru. It was harder since he hadn't eaten breakfast, and was thus low on energy as it was. But to expend what energy he had on a punishment was making things worse, and lowering his chances of passing. By the time he finished his punishment, it was almost ten o'clock and he was sweating badly, bone-tired.

Seeing that his student was done, Jiyumaru cleared his throat to catch the attention of the three Genin hopefuls. "Now that that is out of the way, it is time for your test. As I told you yesterday, you must retrieve a pair of bells from me. At the end of the test, the ones with a bell will pass. Those without a bell will be sent back to the Academy, if not told to just quit being a shinobi altogether."

Jiyumaru expected Naruto, and probably Sakura, to protest, and they did not disappoint. "WHAT?!"

"Whaddya mean, give up being a ninja?!" Naruto demanded hotly, "what gives you the right to say whether we can be ninja's or not?"

"_I_ am your Jounin sensei!" Jiyumaru barked harshly, "my word is law where you are concerned! The only authority I answer to once you are fully under my care is the Hokage's, and he has given me carte blanche to run this team how I see fit! I'll give you fair warning now: should you pass, you may wish you hadn't, because I'll accept no quitters. Once you're a full Genin in my squad, you're under my complete command until one of us dies, or you make Chuunin. Or if you are crippled beyond recovery. It's as simple as that."

Sakura gulped worriedly. She knew she didn't stand a chance against a Jounin. She didn't think any of them, not even Sasuke, could take a Jounin, even if they worked together. And it looked like if they didn't even do well enough and failed, they could just be ordered to quit their shinobi career before it even got started!

Jiyumaru chuckled as he pulled out an alarm clock and two bells, setting the alarm clock on a leveled tree stump and placing the bells on a loop on his pants. "Now, make sure your weapons are ready, because if you don't come at me with intent to kill, you won't stand a chance."

"But sensei, what if you get hurt?" Well, Jiyumaru couldn't fault the girl for being worried. It was stressed quite a lot that you were to be careful using live weapons against allies in spars and simulated exercises. A wrong move could very easily kill. It had happened a few times in the past, as he recalled.

"Well, I'd be a very poor excuse for a Jounin if rank, fresh-out-of-the-Academy _Genin_ were able to kill me, wouldn't I?" Jiyumaru asked, hiding his pleasure at the looks of annoyance the three gave him. It was just as much fun pissing off little Genin as it was Chuunin fresh in ANBU!

"Now, time to introduce the final twist," Jiyumaru chuckled, grinning. Oh yes, this was going to be fun! Slitting his thumb on a button, he spread the blood out over his fingertips as he performed the seals, slamming a palm down onto the ground. "_Kuchiyose no jutsu_!"

The action surprised the three Genin-hopefuls, having never seen a summoning before. Their surprise is compounded when, out of the smoke, a small gray and black raccoon waddled out, nose twitching. It's only garments were a black vest with the symbol of the Hidden Leaf in green on its back, and a blue-banded Konoha hitai-ate on its forehead.

"awww, how adorable!" Sakura cooed as she knelt down towards the raccoon. The little creature's face just seemed to light up as it took a step towards Sakura.

"ah ah ah, Zurui, we have business to attend to," Jiyumaru chastised. The raccoon gave it's summoner a glare before stepping away from the bewildered Sakura.

"Now, Zurui here will aid me in testing your pursuit and capture skills," Jiyumaru explained, "capture him, and the entire team will pass."

"Like it'd be that hard to catch some over-sized rodent," Sasuke snorted.

"Funny, your brother used to say the same thing," Jiyumaru said casually, "I challenged him to trying to catch Zurui when he said I must be pretty pathetic that I couldn't catch one of my own summons when it got loose. He never did catch Zurui, and it was just after he'd made ANBU at that!"

Sasuke stiffened at the casual mentioned of his hated elder brother. It was like this Jiyumaru was testing his patience where his brother was concerned, pushing his buttons to tick him off… and it was _working_.

"Now, when I say go, you three will go and prepare yourselves," Jiyumaru added as he began setting the alarm on the clock, "the clock is set for noon, which gives you just over two hours to get the bells. You can thank Uzumaki for costing you two hours."

The venomous glare Sakura was sending Naruto would have been enough to take down a bull, but it was little compared to the cold look Sasuke was giving Jiyumaru. Jiyumaru just smirked and let just a touch of his own killing intent out, focused entirely on Sasuke so that only Sasuke, or someone highly skilled, could detect it. As expected, the Uchiha survivor paled, gulping slightly as he took a step back. To Jiyumaru's surprise, however, Naruto bristled and looked about, fully alert as if expecting an attack, while Zurui looked on curiously, the little summon being able to detect the killing intent quite easily.

Frowning, Jiyumaru unfocused the direction of his killing intent, letting it flow throughout immediate area. Sakura shivered, looking around anxiously, feeling the ominous presence but not knowing its source, and Sasuke's eyes were focused on him. The surprise, however, was Naruto. The very moment he stopped keeping his killing intent focused, Naruto's head jerked towards him, looking straight at him.

'Hmm, interesting, I'll have to test this out,' Jiyumaru decided. The ability to detect subtle killing intent, especially when it was not directed at you, was an invaluable skill for a shinobi, even as much as learning how to suppress your own. Seeing enough, Jiyumaru pulled back his killing intent, suppressing it once again, leaving three confused Genin.

"Now, Zurui, take off, you'll be able to hear me call for the start of the test. Evade, mock, and taunt to your heart's content, but be back here five minutes after noon and you'll get lunch. You'll get to eat the lunch of whoever doesn't get a bell, since they'll be too busy tied to one of these tree stumps to eat."

The look of horror on the three Genin's faces showed that they now realized why he'd told them not to eat breakfast.

'I'm sure glad he ordered us to eat last night now!' Sakura thought, 'with my diet, I'd be _starving_ right now.'

The raccoon gave a nod of understanding, along with a cheeky grin, and scampered off into the trees, hiding away quickly. Oh, it knew this was going to be fun!

"Any further questions? I would like to add that killing or maiming your fellow Genin in this exercise will be seen as treason, and be dealt with accordingly. You're aspiring to become shinobi of the Leaf, so act like it! Now, the test will begin…. NOW!"

As soon as he finished, the three Genin took off. 'Hmmm, Uchiha and Haruno are both decent in concealing themselves. They could probably hide themselves from anyone mid-Chuunin level and lower against non-trackers. Not bad, not bad at all. Uzumaki, however…'

Jiyumaru turned around. "You know, considering how often you're able to lose pursuers, I'd have thought you'd know how to conceal yourself. Not very smart to attack head-on against a superior adversary."

"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna let you stop me from becoming a ninja!" Naruto declared as he performed Kage Bunshin, forming a half dozen clones, the group yelling in unison as they attacked, "I WILL BE HOKAGE!:"

"Shinobi lesson Number One: Taijutsu, the shinobi art of fighting using the hands and feet," Jiyumaru said offhandedly as he ducked the punches of two clones, backflipping and solidly planting his feet into their sternums, the impact dissipating the clones. Spinning on his hands, he delivered strikes to two more clones with his feet, finally finishing the backflip and catching the last two clones with two quick palm strikes to the throat. A moment later all six clones disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Slipping back into a ready stance, Jiyumaru gave the halting Naruto a smirk. "Undisciplined and rash. Two unsavory habits that are even worse when combined. Now, come at me seriously, or your next attack will be your last of the day."

"I won't let you beat me," Naruto declared, "I will become Hokage!"

And yet, the blond held back. Ayame's words from earlier were ringing through his head again. 'Look underneath the underneath. But how? Isn't the point of this test to get the bells? How else are we gonna become Genin?'

And that's when it hit him. They weren't supposed to get the bells, they were supposed to become Genin. And the bells weren't the only means of doing that!

"Just you wait, sensei, I'm gonna pass and be a ninja, and one day I'll be Hokage!" Naruto declared as he took off, not noticing the approving smile on Jiyumaru's face.

'He's running away?' Sakura thought to himself, 'and after all that talk, too. Figures he'd be just a loudmouth.'

'What's the dobe up to?' Sasuke wondered as he watched Naruto dash into the woods, "hmph, at least he is smart enough to run from someone stronger than him.'

'He couldn't have figured it out, could he?' Jiyumaru wondered briefly. The kid was a surprise at every turn, so he couldn't discount the possibility. 'Well, it's best to let it play itself out. Zurui'll take care of him, and I do have two other little rookies to amuse myself with. How to do it though…'

Before he could finish his contemplations, Jiyumaru is forced to jump back to dodge a barrage of shuriken, no doubt thrown by the Uchiha survivor. The placement of the throwing stars from where they landed and how he had been positioned indicated that the boy had in fact been going in for the kill, as no less than five major arteries would have been punctured. Not bad. It was a good start, at least.

'He's already moving,' Jiyumaru noted as he sensed Sasuke's muffled chakra presence retreating to another position, 'kid's got skill, but nowhere near what he needs for his ambitions. Now, where's the girl? Ah, there she is. I wonder what her first move will be? Her records indicate potential for Genjutsu, but it's extremely unlikely that she will actually know any.'

Taking in the situation again, Jiyumaru smirked. It was low and underhanded, but he knew just the thing to do against the Uchiha survivor to test his willpower. With a chuckle, Jiyumaru took off into the forest towards Sasuke, ready to test the young Uchiha's skills… and his motivations.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke was in quite a state. 'How can he be that fast?! He _dodged_ my shuriken. And now he knows where I am!'

As Sasuke rushed on, he took no notice of the swirling leaves, subconsciously attributing them to his retreat, paying no heed to the other slight changes going on.

'I need to find a new place to hide, and fast.'

A low chuckle filled the air, stopping Sasuke cold. "Foolish little brother, do you honestly think you can run from the inevitable?"

'It.. it can't be _him_.'

"Are you still so weak as to run when facing an opponent? How… pathetic."

With a growl of rage, Sasuke turned to face the speaker. Standing on a branch behind him was a young man of eighteen, with jet black hair that reached his shoulders, two lines going down his cheeks alongside his nose. He wore the basic uniform of a Konoha ANBU, minus the mask. His eyes were a blazing red, with three comma shaped marks surrounding each pupil. Overall, he bore a strong familial resemblance to Sasuke himself.

"Uchiha… Itachi," Sasuke growled out as he stared at the one he desired to kill.

"I see you haven't forgotten me, Sasuke," the nuke-nin known as Uchiha Itachi said, his voice low, "tell me, have you gotten stronger, in these last five years?"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" With that, Sasuke rushed at the elder Uchiha, kunai at the ready as he lunged for the kill. Almost idly, Itachi stepped out of the way of the oncoming attack, and gave him a slight push to the back, sending the boy crashing into a tree. Stumbling back to his feet, Sasuke turned around to once again charge his target, only to find him gone.

'Where… where IS HE?!' Sasuke thought furiously as he scanned the area, at the ready. However, his hated elder brother was nowhere to be found.

A low chuckle filled the air. "Foolish little brother. You are still far too beneath me for my notice. You are not yet worthy to see my power again."

A sharp blow landed on the back of Sasuke's neck, knocking him out. As he slipped into blissful unconsciousness, the voice in his ears is not that of his brother, but his sensei. "You need to work at Genjutsu detection, Sasuke."

* * *

"Grrr damn it you little rat, stand still!" Things had gone downhill for Naruto since running from his sensei. Having decided that the object of the test was in truth to get them to pass as a team, he'd gone after the raccoon Jiyumaru had summoned, and intended to catch it.

Easier said than done. The little bastard was quick and agile, able to slip away from him in the blink of an eye, only to reappear tauntingly close yet just out of reach time and again. It'd then taunt him by turning around and flipping its tail disdainfully at him, then chatter at him, mocking him. Oh, Naruto couldn't stand the little gray-furred bastard!

"Damn it, I'm gonna turn you into a hat, you little fuzzball!" The raccoon just chattered mockingly at him and continued to dodge. And so, the chase was still on.

* * *

"How disappointing," Jiyumaru murmured as he watched Sasuke slip into unconsciousness, "a simple, low-level Genjutsu and a single strike and the vaunted last Uchiha is eliminated. So much for this year's Number One Rookie"

Straightening, Jiyumaru turned to where Sakura was hiding. 'And now to test the highest ranked kunoichi of this year's graduating class.'

Calmly walking away from the fallen Uchiha, Jiyumaru gaged Sakura's positioning from what he could sense. 'Hiding under the cover of a clump of bushes, are you Haruno-san? Decent, against most shinobi I would admit. A little training in masking your chakra signature and your scent, and you'll be damn near undetectable.'

"Where.. where did they all go?" Sakura murmured to herself, "I haven't heard anything since Sasuke threw those shuriken and Naruto ran off."

"You know," a voice said just behind her, "when you're hiding alone, unless you have a radio you really shouldn't speak. You never know what kind of senses your opponent has."

Sakura gasped and whirled around to come face to face with her sensei. "Reaction time is three point four seconds. A tad slow, even for a beginning Genin like you. And you aren't readily armed, either." Jiyumaru's voice was even, cool and calm as if he was simply observing insects at work.

"S-sensei!" Sakura's stammer was full of fear. She knew she was facing a far superior shinobi, and apparently did not have the confidence in herself to even try. Truly, the level of the kunoichi had dropped in the last several years, maybe even as far back as the last decade. He supposed it couldn't be helped. Times were peaceful now, and there was none of the sense of urgency as there had been when he'd become a Genin, with the recent Kyuubi attack and the war with Kumogakure. There was no need right now to replace shinobi lost to that devastating monster, or to bolster to ranks to fend off a determined enemy, as they had even recovered from the Uchiha Massacre.

"Ohayo, Sakura," Jiyumaru greeted cheerfully, "wonderful day, don't you think? Lovely day for a test like this."

Sakura took a frantic step back, shaking as she drew a kunai from her pouch. Jiyumaru watched calmly as she took a basic defensive stance, the kunai held reverse.

"So, you do wish to fight," Jiyumaru commented, "let's see what you have to offer, young lady. It can't be any worse than what your _team_mates offered. Uzumaki ran off, and Uchiha fell before a simple Genjutsu."

"There's no way Sasuke-kun was beaten easily!" Sakura declared as she straightened.

'aha, so she doesn't like her crush being insulted, does she?' Jiyumaru wondered, 'let's see how far she can be pushed.'

"You shouldn't be so surprised, Haruno," Jiyumaru continued aloud, "the Uchiha have always been notoriously weak against Genjutsu. If not for a special ability that crops up within a precious few, the entire Clan would have been wiped out far earlier than it had been. Wiped out by its brightest star, the Uchiha Heir, Uchiha Itachi. He slaughtered the entire clan, save for his apparently pathetic younger brother."

"Sasuke-kun isn't pathetic!" Sakura declared, her voice raising to a yell.

'hmph, one more.'

"If that is so, then why was he taken in by a low-level Genjutsu cast by someone who isn't even very efficient at them? There were a half-dozen clues that any _decent_ shinobi could have seen right through. Hell, even Uzumaki would have been able to see right through it. Face it, the current "Rookie of the Year" is nothing more than a pampered brat."

"That's not true! You take that back!" And that, as it turned out, was Sakura's breaking point. With narrowed eyes, she launched her kunai at her sensei, only for him to calmly knock it aside with one of his gloves. Charging in after the kunai, her hands flicked through a short set of seals and two Bunshin appeared beside her as she continued her charge.

With feigned disinterest, Jiyumaru dissected her attack as she cam, easily popping the two fakes with a single jab each, and bending over backwards to avoid the kunai from the real Sakura. Spinning and dodging, he continued to avoid attack after attack as he gaged her skill.

'Far too basic. She uses the standard Academy-taught taijutsu style, and she's fairly adept at it too, but it seems like she's restricting herself to by-the-book maneuvers. Fine against other rookie Genin, ill-trained bandits, and even civilians, but not against a halfway decent shinobi unless they do the same. I'll have to see about teaching her about pressure points and to make her movements more fluid. Girls should be graceful fighters, not brute strength powerhouses. Not unless they have abilities like Tsunade-sama, at least.'

Backflipping to avoid another lunge, Jiyumaru whipped out a hand and caught Sakura by the wrist, bending her over and applying pressure to make her drop the kunai. "Not bad, Haruno-san. Not great, but not bad. You're definitely more than I expected, but considering your actions yesterday, that's not difficult. You passed the Academy exams because you could perform the basic Academy jutsu and have impressive knowledge for someone so young. Your overall skills, however, are lacking."

And with that, Jiyumaru flipped Sakura over and struck her in the back of the neck, knocking her out.

* * *

"Damn you, you fuzzy little piece of shit!" Naruto cursed as he hung upside down from a tree branch where his foot got caught as he fell. Right outside of his grasp was the little raccoon Zurui, shaking its butt at him tauntingly, chattering at him. Laughing at him.

"Grrr, that's it! You're going down! Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Zurui immediately stopped its taunting as dozens of Naruto clones poofed into existence. Most of them immediately sprung after him while the remaining few helped their creator out of his predicament.

The chase was still on, and despite the new numbers advantage, things did not look well for the young Uzumaki. Zurui, as it turned out, was a master of dodging multiple pursuers.

Time was running out.

* * *

Sasuke stirred. As consciousness returned to him, he realized that he was restrained. Opening his eyes, he could see that he was tied to one of the stumps in front of the stone. A moment of struggle revealed that he was tightly bound, and would take more time than he could likely afford to get out. If it wasn't too late already.

Glancing around further, he saw that Sakura was tied to one of the other posts, and was just beginning to stir.

"Ah, it looks like both of my sleeping beauties are waking up." Sasuke scowled as he turned his head, Sakura doing the same, though groggily and without the scowl. Off to the side was Jiyumaru, snapping a green-backed book shut as he placed it back in one of his vest pockets.

"It took the two of you quite a while to wake up, but less than I was expecting," Jiyumaru remarked as he studied the two bound rookies, "I'm almost impressed. But the two of you were taken down far too easily for this year's Number One Rookie, and the kunoichi with the highest grades in the graduating class. Most disappointing indeed. But, ah, what can you expect from a girl whose more interested in boys than in being a ninja and the last scion of a second-rate Clan?"

Jiyumaru had to bite back a chuckle at the killing intent radiating from his captives. Well, from Sasuke at least. Sakura actually looked a bit introspective. Well, if she thought things over and decided to take things more seriously, all the better. The real clincher would be how Naruto fared against Zurui. Oh, the kid wouldn't be able to catch his summon, oh no. In the past Konoha's best had attempted to track and capture Zurui before, but no one had ever caught him. But if he made a good enough showing, it would change things. Like precisely how much work Naruto would have to go through to be brought up to speed.

"Hey, why isn't Naruto tied up with us?" Sakura asked as she noticed the absence of the blonde.

"He's still chasing Zurui, I imagine," Jiyumaru responded as he checked the clock, "but eh, he only has five minutes left before noon. Congratulations, you all fail the exam."

Sasuke tried to escape the ropes holding him to the stump for one last attempt, but he couldn't budge an inch. The ropes were far too tight.

Jiyumaru smirked at the Uchiha. "Sorry kid, your not going anywhere just yet. Looks like you'll have to put your hopes on Uzumaki catching my summon and getting him back here before time runs out."

'oh great,' Sakura murmured, her inner self adding '_**we're doomed.'**_

"So, just get as comfortable as you can and wait for the alarm to go off. Once it does, I'll collect Uzumaki and give out my verdict after tying him to the third stump."

"Maybe Naruto'll catch the thing and we'll all pass?" Sakura suggested hopefully.

Jiyumaru gave a snort of amusement. "If the best in ANBU couldn't catch him, a fresh-out-of-the-Academy Genin doesn't stand a chance."

"Why would you give us such impossible tasks?" Sakura demanded, "aren't you supposed to give us a chance to get the bells or something?"

"No, that is not the purpose of the test," Jiyumaru sighed, mentally adding 'so much for being the smartest kunoichi of her year', "the purpose of the test was to teach you _teamwork_. Konoha thrives on teamwork. By working together, a team of shinobi can cover up the weaknesses an individual shinobi may have, and get the job done with better chances of survival. Even the greatest shinobi Konoha has produced in the past, were able to become great because they learned the value of teamwork. They were able to learn from their teammates, and shore up their weaknesses."

"Then why the bells?" Sakura asked.

"Simple: to drive you apart. By making it so that you were starving for food, and only had a two in three chance of passing, you'd only think about yourself. To put it simply, in Konoha we rely on one another, to recognize our strengths and weaknesses and admit to ourselves when someone else is better equipped to handle a job. By doing this, we grow as shinobi, by learning about our weaknesses we can overcome them."

The two Genin were silent at that as they mulled over things. They were both quite intelligent, so Jiyumaru didn't think it'd take them long for them to understand things, especially since he spelled it out for them. His own musings were cut short by the ringing of the alarm, signaling the end of the test.

Stepping over to the alarm, Jiyumaru turned it off. "Well, kiddos, it looks like.. what's that noise?"

"Goddamnit you little bastard, hold still!" The sound of thrashing and breaking wood was accompanied by high-pitched chittering, as if there was a struggle going on that was heading right for them.

'There's no way...' Jiyumaru mused as he turned towards the oncoming sound, the sound of an alarm going off to the side occurring at the same time. The sound of twigs snapping filled the air as Naruto burst into view, with a struggling Zurui in his arms.

Struggling to maintain his composure, Jiyumaru studied his blond charge. The boy was covered in dirt, twigs, leaves, and mud. Zurui obviously hadn't just decided to be snippy and go right to him. He'd obviously worked for his capture. But there was just no way that a fresh Genin could…. the Kage Bunshin. Naturally, the boy had used it and swarmed Zurui, finally capturing him. And yet, he only looked mildly winded. It appeared that his stamina rivaled, if not surpassed, his chakra capacity. If that was the case, then he might not even need the training shortcut.

"You're late." Jiyumaru's voice was flat, masking the surprise he still felt. Naruto's reaction was what he expected.

"What?! Come on, Jiyumaru-sensei, I caught the fuzzball! That means we all get to pass, doesn't it?"

"True, if you had made it on time, you would have passed," Jiyumaru stated, "however, you were late. In the field, being late can mean the life of your teammates, of your friends. It can mean the failure of the mission, and could even open up a possibility for the destruction of Konoha should it happen in a time of war."

Jiyumaru studied the faces of his charges as they digested this information. Sasuke's face showed that he was taking the information in, but overall it looked like he didn't care. A long way to go, that one had. Sakura, though, seemed to take it in stride. It was safe to assume she already knew this intellectually, but now it was being hammered home with the threat of not becoming a Genin. Naruto, though, was obviously taking it the hardest. The Kyuubi container was shocked, he mouth agape as he stared at his sensei. From the plethora of emotions running across his features, though, it was safe to assume that he was taking it to heart. As far as he knew, he had just failed his team, and his crush, and at best they were about to be sent back to the Academy. At worst they were gonna be told to stop being shinobi.

As he looked at his charges, his eyes met Naruto's. What he saw there was astonishing. Instead of anger at the thought of not being a ninja or being sent back to the Academy, or disappointment for the same, his eyes burned with fierce determination. They were eyes that had seen much hardship, and grown stronger for it. The blond jinchuuriki before him had a lot of will. His fire to accomplish his dream was pure and whole. And if he hadn't already been convinced that the kid had the potential and will to become Hokage, the look in his eyes would have convinced him.

With a nod to himself, he stepped forward and untied both Sakura and Sasuke, letting them drop to the ground with ease. "All of you, eat. No sense in you facing the consequences on an empty stomach."

"But Jiyumaru-sensei," Naruto began.

"Can it!" Jiyumaru barked, "I don't want to hear it. Eat, _now_."

With a gulp, all three Genin sat and ate their food in silence as Jiyumaru watched them like a hawk. It didn't take them long to finish eating, and when they were done they packed up the bento.

"Follow me, and don't speak," Jiyumaru ordered as he walked out of the training ground and into the village proper, the three Genin following him.

The somber procession made its way through the Hidden Leaf Village few quite a few looks. Naruto, absorbed in his failure to pass this final test, was too withdrawn to take note of the cold looks directed at him from the villagers. Jiyumaru, Sakura, and Sasuke, however, did notice.

'They're glaring at Naruto,' Sakura realized, 'their eyes are so... _cold_.'

'They're looking at him with.. hatred,' Sasuke thought, 'but why? Even his pranks don't deserve reacitons like _this_.'

'hmmm, I'll need to do a more thorough background check on Naruto,' Jiyumaru mused, 'no one can be that peppy and cheerful all the time without being mentally challenged. And while his test scores would indicate such a thing, it's clear that he's _not_ stupid. I need to check to see if it's a mask, or if he's just that unusual. Bunch of fools, too blind to see past their pain.'

The group's trek, cold glares aside, was uneventful as they reached the Hokage Tower, walking into the mission room where the Sandaime Hokage was assigning missions. His job as an instructor over for the time being, Umino Iruka was helping the old man out. That, and he liked doing this job. He took notice of Team 7's entry into the room, most especially their dejected looks and Jiyumaru's own scowl.

"ah, Jiyumaru, are you here to give your report on how your team performed?" Sarutobi asked, beginning to worry as he saw the dejected faces of the three Genin, most noticeably Naruto's own glum look, as if he had single-handedly let Sasuke and Sakura down.

With a glance back at the three Genin, Jiyumaru suppressed a grin as he turned his full attention to the Hokage, his words ringing loud and clear through the room as he gave the aged Hokage a salute.

"Team 7 reporting for official team registration, Hokage-sama!"

--

And here's the second chapter. If you think Jiyumaru was harsh now, wait till you see him later. Each of the members of Team 7 seriously needed/needs a thorough butt-kicking to ground in the knowledge they need, and Kakashi was too laid-back to do it. Jiyumaru, however, is not. He's not a better teacher than Kakashi, just different. Where Kakashi will show the way and leave his students to figure it out themselves, Jiyumaru will offer advice, take a hands-on interest in their development, much like Gai with Lee. He will take on Kakashi's approach on more philosophical matters (after all, we all need to find our own way in those matters), but as Jiyumaru himself said, he will do his best to make his team the best they can be, even if it means arranging apprenticeships with other Jounin. Sakura with Kurenai, Sasuke with Kakashi. Anyone care to guess who Naruto'll end up with? It's not either of the two you normally see him put with in these situations, I can assure you that!

Basically, just expect Jiyumaru to kick some ass to get his lessons across.

Also, be sure to check out UmbreonMessiah's story, _Dragonheart_. At www. Fanfiction. net/s/3263151/1/


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Jiyumaru and his summons. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishamoto.

I made a slight change in chapter two. Nothing major, just the final line.

* * *

The day after Team 7 registered as an official Genin team, Jiyumaru met with the other two successful Genin sensei, Kurenai and Asuma, before the Hokage, with Hatake Kakashi present. The three official sensei were standing at attention in front of the Hokage, while Kakashi was leaning against a wall, reading his book, a giggle escaping every so often. Kakashi was mainly there because when Sasuke activated his Sharingan, he would occasionally be taking the boy for personal training in the use of it.

"Well, Jiyumaru, judging from your little exhibition yesterday I'd say you're team impressed you," Sarutobi stated as he took a long drag from his pipe.

"Hokage-sama, while they still have a LONG way to go before I'd feel comfortable sending them to the Chuunin Exams this summer, they did impress me," Jiyumaru began, "Uchiha Sasuke's ninjutsu is well above average. As an Uchiha, he knows all of the basic Katon jutsu, but he also knows Goukakyou no jutsu."

"A Genin capable of performing that jutsu? Impressive, of course. How was his state after using it?" Kakashi's bored-sounding voice was slightly muffled by his book, but still understandable.

Jiyumaru's reply was clipped and professional. "I can't say for sure, as I took him out rather easily with a Genjutsu during the test. I know he can use it because _he_ said he could shortly before the incident. However, if he has been able to adequately perform Goukakyou for the past five years, then his chakra reserves are no doubt sizable, mid-Chuunin at best, but most likely low Chuunin. There's little finesse involved, so overloading the jutsu isn't hazardous and would only have resulted in forcing his chakra reserves to increase."

Kurenai's inquiring tone cut in. "What of Haruno Sakura?"

"I'm afraid to say she may even be more obsessed with the Uchiha boy than I had feared. At the mere mention of him not being as good as _she_ thinks he is, she became quite enraged and lost all coordination in her movements. Her taijutsu is adequate, and her control over Bunshin no jutsu is superb. I daresay she's about as good as I was at it at her age, and Bunshin has always been one of my best jutsu. I do agree completely that she is a Genjutsu type. Kurenai-san, perhaps we can come up with a sort of exchange for you to train her. I can perform a few Genjutsu, but I'm rather shoddy at explaining how to execute them. Besides, the ones I know are high level, and I developed them myself, to fit with my way of doing things. They wouldn't work well for her."

"We'll see." Kurenai's own thoughts drifted to the kunoichi of her team, and the confidence boost she needed. Perhaps they could make an exchange after all.

"What of Uzumaki? I know he was the dead last, but that was largely because he did poor on the bookwork, wasn't it?" Asuma's gruff voice was laid-back, as always. For the son of the legendary Sandaime Hokage, he wasn't a man to jump headfirst into action unless the situation called for it. Still, he was dependable. Jiyumaru could count on one hand the number of people he'd rather have at his back than the chain smoker, and two of them were in the room.

"Uzumaki was perhaps the most surprising of them all. Despite being loud and brash, and a reputation for being dense, he's actually rather quick on the uptake when he's not distracted by something. Too bad he just about has the attention span of a housefly and is hyperactive. But that can be fixed with training."

Kakashi chuckled as he thought of someone other than a new member of ANBU undergoing Jiyumaru's 'training'. Several hopefuls had quit ANBU after a week under the former captain. And this was a fresh Genin he was talking about!

"Besides that, I'd place his chakra capacity as being Kage level, if not MORE." Jiyumaru's words caused some surprise to the younger Sarutobi, as well as Kakashi, but Kurenai and the Sandaime just nodded in agreement, having seen the boy pull off Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu to create hundreds of Kage Bunshin without dropping dead in the process.

"Furthermore, his physical stamina is through the roof as well, though you could probably guess that with all the time Chuunin and lower level ANBU squads have spent chasing him after a prank. Kid's a one man distraction. If we gave him some proper stealth and demolitions training, we could slip him into an enemy village during a time of war with scrolls filled with sabotage equipment and he'd wreak untold havoc after just one night, and then escape using an army of Kage Bunshin to cover his tracks."

That caught Kakashi's interest. "A sabotage specialist? It's true that Konoha has never had one, but do you honestly think he could do just that?"

"Sempai, even without giving him a thorough check of his full range of abilities, I know that that kid, with training, could do anything he set his mind to, whether it's become Hokage, leader of ANBU, or hell maybe even conquer the entire damn world! Personally, I'm thinking of training him to enter the Hunter nin division. Partner him with a skilled Inuzuka and a Hyuuga for good measure, and a medic for the final member, and you'd have a Hunter team that could track down, and most likely eliminate, ANY missing nin. Including the likes of Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi."

Kakashi arched an eyebrow, as did the other Jounin and the Hokage. The silver-haired Jounin was, again, the one who spoke. "Don't you think you may be overstating his abilities?"

Jiyumaru took a deep breath. He knew Kakashi held no grudge against the Kyuubi container, but he also seemed skeptical of his abilities. With good reason, given Naruto's Academy records.

"With phenomenal chakra reserves and stamina, he can work longer and harder to achieve any goal of strength or simple book learning. And you know the potential learning ability he has with Kage Bunshin. As for his tracking… he can swarm and isolate with Kage Bunshin, use them as scouts. Even if the target destroys one, it'll just give him the knowledge of exactly where the target is. But it's the swarming ability that he has in excess, and is likely his greatest strength right now. I suspected as much before Zurui even told me that's how he was captured by the boy."

You could hear a pin drop. In fact, you could hear Kakashi's book hit the floor as the four shinobi stared at Jiyumaru, slack jawed. Zurui was infamous among the upper levels of Konoha shinobi, and the terror of any tracker nin team in training. No one had ever managed to track him down and capture him, not even Kakashi and his nin-dog pack. And to say that a fresh-out-of-the-Academy _Genin_, one who was ranked _dead last_ in the current year's graduates, had managed to capture the wily raccoon? It boggled the mind.

"I must be going senile," Sarutobi muttered, "Jiyumaru, I could _swear_ that you just said that Naruto was able to capture Zurui _on his own_."

"He was," Jiyumaru replied, a grin tugging at his lips, "Uzumaki Naruto was able to capture Zurui, with the full knowledge that doing so would allow all three of them to pass. I will not attempt to offer reasons why he would want both of his teammates to pass, only that he wasn't think of just himself when he pursued Zurui. To this end, I am tentatively placing him as the Genin leader for the squad. He will perform duties as such until he is promoted to Chuunin, he dies, or one of his teammates proves to be better."

"Perhaps such responsibilities will settle him down," Sarutobi mused, "at the least, it will give him a vague idea of what fulfilling his dream will be like."

"It'll also spur Sasuke on as well, to show Naruto up," Kakashi added as he flipped a page in his book, the others in the room having regained their composure, "just let me know when the boy activates his Sharingan and I'll make myself available to train him."

"I can handle much of the basics myself," Jiyumaru replied adamantly, "The Sharingan-style genjutsu, the nuances that only another Sharingan wielder can describe and train, that is what I will ask you to teach him. That, and _only_ that. Got it Kakashi-senpai?"

Kakashi gave a light chuckle. "Always the control freak, ne Jiyumaru? Ah well, all things considered, it's not too bad a vice. Just let me know when Sasuke has the Sharingan and I'll do my duty."

With that, Kakashi vanished in a plume of smoke, leaving the other three Jounin to shake their heads. Jiyumaru turned to Kurenai. "Kurenai-san, I would like to request, if possible, for you to devote some time to training Haruno Sakura in Genjutsu."

Kurenai pursed her lips as she thought the idea over. Granted, she expected this request after his evaluation of the pink-haired kunoichi, but she had expected him to ask her in private, and as a favor, instead of doing it formally and in front of the Hokage.

"I don't object to teaching her, but what are you willing to offer in exchange? None of my Genin require the skills that you are best suited to teach."

Jiyumaru gave a nod of acknowledgment. He was, after all, a combat type, and Kurenai's team was for tracking. And since he combat types on her team used family styles, he had little to teach them at the level they were at. "True, but I was thinking of lending you Zurui, or one of his brothers, to help train your Genin in tracking."

Kurenai swallowed. "You would be on hand to keep them under control should they get out of hand, wouldn't you?"

Jiyumaru chuckled. "Of course. I learned from that mistake when _I_ was a rank Genin just learning to summon. I'm sure you remember that day. I still haven't gotten the information out of Zurui where he put all of it, though."

"That would be an acceptable exchange, then. Perhaps we should see of other forms of training exchange we can offer, right Asuma?"

The gruff, bearded Jounin gave a friendly nod and a smile around his cigarette. "Of course. Uzumaki looks to be about the right build for my style of taijutsu. Whaddya say we trade off teams for a day or two at one point? Let you whip mine into submission, and I'll give Uzumaki some taijutsu tips."

Jiyumaru gave a wry chuckle. "Want me to put the fear of Kami in them so you can threaten to hand them over to me again should they toe the line, Asuma-san?"

The grizzled Jounin gave a nod, grinning around his cigarette. "They need it. I've never seen a trio so… so undisciplined. Not even fresh Academy students!"

Jiyumaru gave a chuckle. "And you thought you'd have an easy time since their dads made such an excellent team."

Asuma glared at the younger Jounin, indeed the youngest person in the room at that moment. "And you have an excitable fangirl and a brooding Uchiha on yours. To say nothing of Uzumaki."

Jiyumaru winced. He still didn't know how to deal with Sakura's fangirlism, but he figured that Naruto's hyperactivity could be dealt with by giving him nonstop training. The boy wanted to be Hokage, to surpass all of the previous Hokage's? He'd definitely find out how much work was involved in that!

Rolling her eyes, Kurenai spoke up. "Lending us Zurui to help in tracking would be acceptable, but I have a slight problem within my own team."

Blinking slowly to hide his surprise, Jiyumaru couldn't help but wonder what it was. Seeing the silent inquiry from Asuma and the Hokage, Kurenai continued. "Hyuuga Hinata has very little self confidence, as I'm sure you saw from listening to her introduce herself. However, it's plain to see that she admires Uzumaki Naruto. I daresay she even has a serious crush on him. If not for her shyness, she'd already be his friend… if the Hyuuga Clan allowed it."

"Except for the damage it could potentially do to their reputation, Hiashi wouldn't object," Sarutobi murmured, "he does see Naruto as the Yondaime wanted him to. It's his influence that has kept the more…outspoken, members of the Council from taking drastic measures in regards to Naruto."

"Danzou's still causing problems, then?" Jiyumaru asked. He'd once been approached by the crippled Elder, to be part of his Root ANBU organization before it was disbanded. He'd declined, something about Danzou having set off his danger senses.

Sarutobi nodded in confirmation. "Be wary, Jiyumaru. Danzou would like nothing more than to eliminate Naruto, and if possible bring Sasuke under his wing. It would not be too difficult either, if he promised to train him enough to defeat Itachi."

"As if anyone here could," Jiyumaru growled, "you're the only one in the village with a surefire chance of killing that traitor right now. Kakashi-sempai's gotten too lazy and hasn't trained, so he's out of shape. Maito Gai would give him a strong, harsh battle, but he'd lose in the end. I can't even hazard to guess where I stand with him now, with that new Sharingan of his. I'd probably lose after a few exchanges."

"Be that as it may, you are Sasuke's best choice of training, at least in matters not concerning his Sharingan," Sarutobi said after taking another drag from his pipe, "Jiyumaru, starting tomorrow you will begin training your team. I have high hopes for the three of them, and confidence in your training methods to bring out the best in them."

"Arigatou, Hokage-sama," Jiyumaru said, bowing low, "I shall do my best not to fail you."

He gave a slightly sadistic grin. "Like I told you before, they'll wish they had failed by the week's end."

Sarutobi gave a rusty chuckle. "Just don't kill them."

Jiyumaru smirked. "No promises, Hokage-sama."

And with that, the Hokage ended the meeting.

* * *

Thus far, the day had been normal in Konoha. Genin teams throughout the village had already gathered and left off to either train or get a mission for the day.

Team 7, however, was waiting by a bridge for their sensei, who was ten minutes late. Sasuke was leaning on the rails, looking completely cool (in Sakura's opinion). Sakura herself was sitting down, leaning her head back against a rail for support. And Naruto was perched on top of the rails, grumbling about being stuck on a team with the stuck-up prick, Sasuke.

"Konbon wa, minna-san," Jiyumaru greeted his students as he appeared in a flash of smoke.

"You're late!" Naruto and Sakura growled, though in truth they were only slightly annoyed. It wasn't like he was two or three hours late, after all. Though what kind of Jounin would be _that_ late to a meeting he'd set up, anyway?

"Gomen, gomen," Jiyumaru said hurriedly, "sorry I'm late, I had to talk to the Hokage about your training. It took longer than I expected."

"Really? So what kind of kick-ass ninja techniques are you gonna show us?" Naruto demanded excitedly.

"I need to finish determining your exact level of skill, first," Jiyumaru replied, "meaning more tests. Only these will be one on one."

Naruto and Sakura swallowed nervously while Sasuke smirked in anticipation. He was eager to get another shot at his sensei after he was humiliated during their test.

"First, however, I suppose I will have to lay out the rules for you three," Jiyumaru sighed.

"Um, what rules, Jiyumaru-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"To put it bluntly, rules of conduct," Jiyumaru replied, "listen up, all of you. The first rule is that you are to do what I say, when I say it. If you have a question, you may ask it so long as it is reasonable. I do not tolerate insubordination, however. The last ANBU recruit who questioned my orders strongly was in the hospital for two months due to the injuries I gave him. He got out last month. The second rule is largely directed at you two, Naruto, Sakura."

"Um, what is it, sensei?" Sakura asked meekly. Her sensei's tone of voice when he spoke of hospitalizing a fellow Konoha shinobi for not following orders had her very, very scared.

"While we are together, as a team, doing missions and training, the two of you will forgo any thoughts of wooing one of your teammate's," Jiyumaru said seriously. Ignoring the look of shock on the blond and the pinkette, he continued on before either could speak. "It is highly distracting for both of you. For either of you, if the object of your affections was showing any inclination that they were willing, I'd merely ask you to keep it toned down during team exercises. As it is, I must ask you to stop it altogether during those times. Your free time is, of course, yours to do with as you please. But when the team is together for missions and training, I expect you to behave properly."

"But sensei, that's not fair!" Sakura protested.

"No, what isn't fair is wasting your potential, and that's exactly what you'll do if you continue such trivial pursuits instead of training," Jiyumaru snapped, "you are ninja now, proud shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, so act like it!"

The three Genin swallowed nervously at the killing intent being sent out by their sensei. He was deadly serious about them focusing on their duties as shinobi.

"Once you become Chuunin, it would be more feasible for you to pursue romance," Jiyumaru continued, his voice softer, but still firm, "Chuunin have more social and economical stability, so it's easier to afford going out on decent dates. When you are Genin, most of your time should be focused on training, so you can survive your missions. Not to mention, about the best you can do for a restaurant date as a Genin is go to a ramen stand, and girl's will only tolerate that so many times, Naruto. Hone your skills now, so you can open your hearts later."

With that, Jiyumaru let out a chuckle. "Besides, twelve is a bit young for romance in my opinion anyway. You're still adjusting to hormones, and puberty has only started to hit you. Trust me, all three of you are going to be hormonal wrecks for the next, oh, five years or so I wager."

Sakura blushed as she realized that her sensei, in her mind, was at least partly right... though if he could get Naruto to stop asking her out so much, she could deal with it. Besides, he did say their free time was their own, right?

"Um, sensei, what _will_ our training be like?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Good question," Jiyumaru responded, "to put it simply, it depends on where you are in your abilities already. However, there will be speed, strength, and endurance training, as well as training in chakra control, expanding your chakra capacity, and bringing the skills you possess up to the level that I require in my students. And I expect each and every one of you to give it your all. If you do not give it your best, you'll be punished. Question my orders, and you'll be punished. Step out of line with other superiors such as Chuunin, Jounin, ANBU, and the Hokage and you'll be punished. Follow to the best of your ability, and we'll see what is needed to shore you up."

Jiyumaru looked among his charges, and gave them another look-over. Naruto wasn't quite as bad off as he'd thought he was. The kid was bright, and his enthusiasm was genuine. Privately, he wondered how much of it was a desire for acceptance, and how much of it was genuine eagerness to be a shinobi. Well, part of his duty as a sensei was to test their mettle. He would either break the boy of his dream, or he would mold him into someone truly worthy of it.

Sakura looked pensive, and Jiyumaru was sure it was due to the fact that she was unsure of her own physical abilities. And from what Jiyumaru had judged, she had reason to be concerned. But he could see a strong, capable kunoichi waiting to be brought out. A delicate flower that would bloom with wondrous strength, with the right cultivation.

Sasuke was the real problem, though. The kid wanted to grow strong enough to kill Itachi. So much so that it was a single-minded determination with him. Such determination needed to be focused, not all-consuming.

"Furthermore, I will be testing your overall aptitude in the shinobi arts: taijutsu, genjutsu, ninjutsu, as well as your accuracy with kunai and shuriken. The taijutsu style taught at the Academy is basic, average. Excel in it and you can use it as a base for almost any other taijutsu style you could possibly learn. I know a style or two that would likely suit the two of you better than the Academy-taught style, Naruto, Sakura."

"Really sensei?" Sakura asked. She'd never been that great at taijutsu. She'd readily admit it was probably her weakest area. And if Jiyumaru-sensei could help her, she'd gladly take it, so she could prove to Sasuke that she wouldn't hold him back.

"Of course. I told you, I would help my students to be the best they could be, to the best of my ability. And you need a taijutsu style that fits you better. Taijutsu serves two purposes: for close range self-defense when you have no weapons or are unskilled with them, and building up your stamina. Better stamina means more chakra, and more chakra, coupled with control, means you can fight longer, and harder. It is virtually unheard of for a shinobi to _not _use taijutsu. It is at the core of what it is to be a shinobi."

Jiyumaru looked over his students again and smirked. "Now, to judge your conditioning! All three of you, we are going to run laps around Konoha until each of you can go no further. Once you finish that, you'll be doing jumping jacks for an hour, or until you can't move. Then, we'll move on to kunai and shuriken accuracy, senbon as well if you've taken a liking to them, and finally your abilities in taijutsu."

Jiyumaru bit back a laugh as his three students gaped at him, Sakura in horror, Sasuke in surprise, and Naruto in, well, he looked like someone who'd just been hit with a fish. All three had a semi-hopeful look that he was joking, but he wasn't. With an inner evil grin, he turned and began jog off, yelling at them to hurry up, or he'd tie them to stumps and use them for shuriken practice.

Several hours later, Jiyumaru was waiting for his students to catch their breath. Their physical abilities were about where he expected them to be. Sakura had barely made one lap around the village, while Sasuke had manage seven. Naruto, well, he'd actually called a halt after fifteen, so he could give them the rest of their examination. Overall, Naruto seemed to be in the best physical shape of the three, as far as endurance and stamina went. He was a bit behind Sasuke in speed, but not much. In an all-out fight, if Sasuke was unable to gain a decisive blow quickly, then Naruto's stamina would drag him down. Though shinobi who won by battles of attrition were rare, outside of the Aburame clan that is, it was possible.

He couldn't accurately judge their chakra capacity, as doing so was a weak point of his, so he had asked an ANBU Hyuuga colleague to take a look for him while they ran their laps. Not surprisingly, Naruto's capacity was enormous, but he hadn't expected the boy to have nearly twice his capacity! That easily gave him the largest chakra capacity within the entire village. But his control was abysmal. Sasuke, surprisingly, had almost an eighth of his capacity, quite extraordinary for a new Genin, though his control was mediocre. And Sakura had about what he expected, close to a thirtieth of his chakra. Her control, however, was perfect.

As he watched the trio of Genin go through the other physical exercises, Jiyumaru noted how their bodies moved under stress, carefully judging the full extent of their physical abilities. He had a lot of work ahead of him, which meant they had even MORE work ahead of them.

As his team collapsed, the three Genin drenched in sweat, Jiyumaru smirked. Naruto, who was looking at him just then, shivered fearfully. That look was _evil_!

"Okay team, now it is time for the next stage. Sasuke, Naruto, take your ready stances. The two of you are to show as much of your taijutsu skills as possible. Now, hajime!"

Startled by the sheer abruptness of their sensei, Naruto and Sasuke jumped into their ready stances, attacking one another immediately. As he had seen the day before, Jiyumaru was able to note that Naruto's taijutsu skills were of little note, sloppy, unpolished, and altogether inadequate. His balance was surprisingly good. It almost reminded Jiyumaru of the Inuzuka Juujinken (Beast-Human Fist) taijutsu.

Sasuke's style, on the other hand, was obviously a mid-level version of the Uchiha taijutsu style. Designed to work with the Sharingan, using its perceptive powers to exploit any openings an enemy may present, the Uchiha style was not one a person could learn on their own, as Jiyumaru recognized several flaws in Sasuke's style immediately. Practice against another person would fix up the flaws, as they were obvious against live opponents of even mediocre talent

After watching the two boys spar for twenty minutes, Jiyumaru called a stop, having finished his evaluation. Turning to the semi-rested Sakura, he ordered her to defend herself as he launched into an attack. Using precision soft nerve strikes, hard enough to incite pain but not enough to debilitate yet, the strikes were perfect for further judging Sakura's durability.

After a disappointingly short ten minute spar that left Sakura gasping for breath, Jiyumaru called an end to Team 7's evaluation. Seeing that all three of them were in a rather haggard condition, Jiyumaru decided to give them a well-deserved rest. Besides, he was hungry himself, so he decided to treat them to lunch. After giving Sakura some time to recover, Jiyumaru led them through the village, down a well-worn (to Naruto, at least) path straight to a quaint little ramen stand known as Ichiraku Ramen.

Ayame grinned widely upon seeing Team 7 arrive. "Hey Tou-san, better put an extra pot of ramen up, our favorite customer is here!"

Naruto grinned sheepishly as Jiyumaru looked evenly at him before chuckling softly. Sasuke snorted while Sakura, well, the girl looked just plain hungry.

"Their meals are on me," Jiyumaru stated as he took his seat. The three Genin followed suit, with Sakura and Sasuke on either side (Sasuke on the corner stool) and Naruto sitting beside Sakura.

"So, this is your team, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked, giving Jiyumaru a glance.

"Yep!" Naruto said cheerily, "this is Jiyumaru-sensei, Sakura-chan, and the broody guy over there is Sasuke-teme."

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you," Ayame said, stifling a giggle as she exchanged looks with her father, "are you sure you were put on a good team? Your sensei doesn't look that reliable."

Jiyumaru choked, then glared at Ayame, who ignored him. Winking at her father, who chuckled, Ayame turned to take their orders.

"I'll have a miso ramen and a pork ramen, Ayame-chan," Naruto piped up.

"A chicken ramen for me," Sakura added after checking the menu. Sasuke gave a dismissing grunt and quietly ordered a chicken ramen.

"An extra large beef ramen for me," Jiyumaru stated. As Ayame went to help her father build the orders, Jiyumaru turned his attention to his team.

"Another thing you will be learning, is how to determine your role within a team."

Naruto, blinking, asked the question on the three Genin's mind first. "eh, whaddya mean sensei?"

"Shinobi have roles to perform, both within a mission and within their general duties. I myself am a close range armed combat expert, with a good degree of skill in medium range support jutsu, with a personal affiliation with wind and lightning type jutsu. Furthermore, a team itself can have a purpose. Team 8, led by Kurenari-san, is to be a tracking and reconnaissance team. Team 10, led by Asuma-san is a general combat, as well as a capture and retrieval squad.

"What roles will we have, sensei?" Sakura asked.

"To tell the truth, your three have a LOT of work ahead of you." Jiyumaru's grin was almost _evil_. Seeing it, Ayame shuddered. Now, she was _pitying_ Naruto for being placed under Jiyumaru.

"I'm not gonna lie to any of you. Sasuke, you'll be the team's ninjutsu repository. Once your Sharingan awakens, you'll be tasked with learning enemy jutsu once we ARE in the field, and then teaching your teammate's jutsu that compliments their abilities. Overall, I think you'll be best suited for primary close combat. Perhaps I'll see if there is a weapon that you favor and train you up in it."

Sasuke snorted. As if he would deign to share any jutsu he learned with those two _weaklings_.

"uh, sensei, whats the Sharingan?" Naruto asked.

"The Sharingan is a kekkei genkai, a special bloodline limit unique to the Uchiha Clan. It is a doujutsu, a powerful eye technique, that allows the user to see though ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, copy them and directly imprint those abilities within the bearer's brain. It has numerous levels, and its strength depends on its level, though even at its highest form it still has its limits. A little known fact is that it can also see chakra, as colors."

"How the hell do you know so much?!" Sasuke demanded, not at all polite. 'How could he know this? He's not an Uchiha.'

"How I know is for ME to know and for you to find out when I trust you," Jiyumaru replied seriously, his tone cool. "Now, Sakura, I'm undecided as to how precisely to train you. You have a natural talent at chakra control, making you suited for either utilizing genjutsu or medical jutsu. Frankly, you'd be FAR more useful to the team if you studied medical jutsu, but its up to you."

"Um, medical jutsu, sensei?" Sakura asked timidly.

"Being a medic-nin means that we would be trusting you with our lives once your skills developed. Its a long, hard road, and requires a LOT of training and focus, as well as a desire to do it. But, your control makes you ideal for it, and there are so few medic-nin, and even fewer combat medics. You'd be a valued asset to the village should you pursue being a medic-nin, and once you achieved a certain level of skill, you'd b given the option of being a combat medic and only work at the hospital when not on a mission, or a doctor assigned to the hospital on a permanent basis."

Sakura pursed her lips and looked down, startled at the level of faith her sensei had in her potential.

"Hey sensei, whats my job gonna be?" Naruto asked excitedly. Jiyumaru chuckled at the blonde's excitableness. He was like a kid on a permanent sugar rush... including the annoyance.

"Well Naruto, first we'll have to make you a solid shinobi. Your test scores are absolutely pathetic. Without a strong foundation of knowledge, you'll never become a Chuunin, much less become Hokage. So the first order of business is to teach you in bookwork."

"What?! No way! I suck at paper tests!"

Jiyumaru adjusted his katana, slipping it off and setting it down beside him, voice dry. "Indeed. Your test scores were abysmal. If you wish to succeed as a ninja, much less even have a _chance_ at becoming Hokage, you'll need a solid understanding of bookwork."

Ayame giggled at Naruto's sulky expression. The boy could be absolutely _adorable_ when he sulked. Even Sakura had to giggle at his expression.

"I am glad that you are amused, Sakura," Jiyumaru continued in the same dry tone, "considering that you will be privately tutoring your teammate until his level of knowledge is at the level it should be."

"W-what?!" Sakura screeched while Naruto perked up, "b-but sensei, he'll be constantly bugging me for dates and stuff! We'd never get anything done!"

"It would only be for three nights a week, and such times would be consider 'team' time, so he would not be allowed to," Jiyumaru replied evenly, "think of it as training for yourself as well: as shinobi we don't always get to work alongside people we like, be they fellow shinobi or our clients. There are several shinobi I have worked with in the past that I personally can not stand."

"But sensei," Sakura started, only to be cut off by Sasuke.

"Just do it. If by some miracle you can make the dobe something that's _not_ dead weight, then it'd show that you're not dead weight either."

"Okay Sasuke-kun!" Sakura replied automatically while Jiyumaru internally sighed and Ayame snickered. It was going to be a long road before they were ready for field missions.

* * *

Watching through his crystal ball using his Tomegane no jutsu (Telescope Technique), Sarutobi chuckled to himself, his two old teammates watching with him.

"Are you certain it was.. wise, to place him in charge of this cell?" Koharu, the kunoichi of the old team, asked. Sarutobi altered the angle, focusing on the Jounin in the image.

"Jiyumaru is a talented shinobi, and a capable leader. You know his record as well as I. A ninety-eight percent mission success rate during his time as a Chuunin. Ninety-five percent success rate upon becoming a Jounin. Equal success in ANBU and as an ANBU captain. Diligent in his training and works well and maintains a professional attitude during missions of any rank. In addition to that, his connections to the Kenshin Clan are most beneficial to the village, and his status as a valued ANBU Captain are what opened up negotiations for them to make a set of highly specialized weapons for us."

"True, he IS our only connection to the clan," Homura muttered, "but still, isn't giving him a team of Genin a bit... dangerous? With his teaching methods..."

Sarutobi nodded. "I am sure. He has already gone over his intended training regimen with me, and I wholeheartedly approve. Team 7 is extraordinary in its potential, and Jiyumaru is one of the few who would be capable of bringing out the full potential in all three members."

"While I do not doubt you, Sarutobi, I must question your logic," Koharu stated, "Kenshin Jiyumaru's...connections, are highly valuable, and placing him as an instructor for a team of Genin, well, would not the Kenshin see it as an insult, a demotion from ANBU Captain?"

"Considering that he resigned from ANBU of his own free will, they have little say in the matter," Sarutobi replied, "furthermore, he is personally safeguarding the _future_ of Konoha, not just the village itself. There can be no higher praise than to be deemed worthy to safeguard the next generation."

"Still, to put him in such close proximity to the Kyuubi's.. jailor," Homura muttered, "and Uchiha Sasuke? Are you sure this is wise?"

"Naruto and Sasuke's grades determined their placement together, and Jiyumaru's profile indicated that he would be a good sensei for them both," Sarutobi said as he dis-engaged the jutsu, "Sasuke is obsessed with growing stronger to kill his brother, and Jiyumaru can lead him on that path better than most within this village. Naruto wishes to be Hokage, but he's too unfocused, too wild as of yet. Jiyumaru can calm him down, give him much-needed discipline. And Sakura is a kunoichi with great potential, if given the drive to fulfill it, and he can do that for her."

"I still believe that Hatake Kakashi would have been a better choice for their sensei," Homura stated, "he's the only one in the village who can give the Uchiha hands-on training in his Sharingan, when it awakens."

Sarutobi pulled out his pipe, slowly filling it with tobacco. Carefully lighting it with a spark of fire natured chakra, he took a few puffs as he sorted his argument. "I never wanted to allow Kakashi full-time training of the young Uchiha, but until Jiyumaru retired from ANBU, he was the best I had on active duty. _He_ is retired, or he could have made an excellent teacher for the boy, training him as he trained Itachi. Jiyumaru is a better choice anyway. With his knowledge of how the Uchiha fought, and how to fight them, he can pass that insight on. And he has a vested interest in training young Sasuke to be strong enough to kill his brother, after all."

Koharu and Homura exchanged glances. They couldn't argue with that logic. Intellectually, Jiyumaru could very well be a superior teacher for Sasuke. That did not mean they liked it. Jiyumaru's loyalty to the village was questionable, as he was part of the ambiguous Kenshin Clan. And he was the village's sole link to the Clan, as no other Kenshin were currently shinobi of Konoha, most of them being either shinobi of Kirigakure or Kumogakure, including Jiyumaru's own siblings.

"Furthermore, I fear Kakashi would coddle young Sasuke in memory of Obito, and possibly even focus training only him, and not Sakura or Naruto," Sarutobi continued, "in the end, teamwork would have been sacrificed to satisfy Uchiha Sasuke."

"But what about," Homura began.

"This is the best course of action," Sarutobi repeated sternly, "the matter at hand is closed."

* * *

-one week later-

The first week of training had gone relatively well for Team 7. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had each been put through their paces. At first, all three had protested the sheer magnitude of what was asked of them. Monolithic training methods and impossible demands seemed to be the norm with Jiyumaru-sensei. It took them a full three days to learn that he didn't expect them to actually succeed in most of the tasks he assigned them, but rather to do them without complaint, give it their all, and do as much as possible. And he had been right when he had said they would be plotting his death. Even Sasuke was wearing down on the temptation of Naruto's idea of tricking Jiyumaru-sensei into battling with another Jounin and getting seriously wounded, and then sneaking in to finish him off while he was in the hospital.

Jiyumaru himself was having loads of fun. Watching his cute little Genin wear themselves out in their training was rewarding, and it made him feel that much closer to his own sensei, now understanding the mindset his own Jounin sensei had possessed when he'd taken three young, intelligent Genin straight from the Academy and turned them into a force that had actually helped turn the tide in the war with Kumogakure. Within three years, all three of them had been approaching Jounin level before even having officially earned their Chuunin vests.

Shaking his head to banish thoughts of the past, Jiyumaru looked over his charges. Sakura was panting harshly, gasping for breath after their run. Sasuke was in better shape, breathing heavily but otherwise exhausted. Naruto, as usual, was winded but recovering rapidly.

"All right you three, After a ten minute break we will be going over the tree climbing exercise once again. Sakura, I know you have mastered this, but it is good for building reserves, something you drastically need."

"H-hai s-sen-sensei," Sakura panted, face flushed from exertion. The young kunoichi had come far in just one week. Through harsh training, she had come close to the level Jiyumaru had wanted her at to begin with already. Three more months at this pace and she'd be exactly where he wanted her.

Sasuke's own skills had flourished under Jiyumaru's watchful gaze. His taijutsu, which before had been above average, was approaching perfect for an Uchiha of his age without an active Sharingan. His genjutsu, well, was non-existent besides being able to detect and dispel moderate genjutsu. His ninjutsu was well above average, but it could be better. Especially since he WAS an Uchiha.

Naruto, as usual, was the surprise. He couldn't detect OR dispel genjutsu, and the only ninjutsu he possessed were Kawarimi, Henge, Kage Bunshin no jutsu, and his own invention Orioke no jutsu. But his taijutsu was a pleasant surprise. He was entirely self-taught, used the environment to a degree normally only seen in combat veterans, and had an instinct that was surprising. His mid-battle tactics were innovative and something also usually seen in combat veterans. But his overall lack of skill meant he had little to work with. Still, the taijutsu lessons had paid off extraordinarily. The kid truly seemed abominable at paper tests, and book learning in general, but show him how to do something, and he could figure it out faster than anyone Jiyumaru had EVER seen... though it still raised the question as to how he learned the Kage Bunshin no jutsu in just an hour or two from the Forbidden Scroll with those handicaps.

Jiyumaru sighed as the break went on. Book smarts weren't precisely his forte either, and he had no experience in teaching that sort of thing. He was good enough to get by on his own, he was a former ANBU captain after all, but he wasn't necessarily the bookish type. Not scholastic, anyway...

The Academy was supposed to instill book knowledge into its graduates anyway, and give them the knowledge on how to acquire more! But he supposed, once again, Naruto's growth had been sabotaged. And Jiyumaru found himself ill-equipped to deal with correcting the problem. Jiyumaru recalled his conversation with Umino Iruka on how to best approach Naruto. The Chuunin's advice on to acknowledge the boy, to pay attention to his needs and treat him like a normal human being was almost insulting, but upon seeing how Naruto lit up under just a small bit of praise and attention, he began to realize just how starved he was for acknowledgment.

Signaling for their attention, Jiyumaru cleared his throat to begin. "Now that you have gotten used to the light training," he had to stop for a moment as all three stared at him in horror over the word 'light', "we will begin to branch out. Each of you has a preassigned role in this team, and it is time you started training for that role. Now, most shinobi do not begin to specialize until they reach Chuunin, if they do not have clan jutsu and dogma to fall back on. You three, however, are going to be fitted into roles that the _village_ needs, rather than where you wish to go."

"What the hell, you mean we can't choose for ourselves?!" Naruto demanded angrily. Jiyumaru smirked before delivering a hard body blow to Naruto's stomach, knocking the wind out of the blond and sending him to his knees. Sasuke and Sakura stared at their sensei in utter shock.

"One, you are not to question my orders," Jiyumaru stated calmly, "two, these positions within the team reflect your area of ability. Sasuke, you will be the team's first response, taking point in the standard travel formations. You will be the first to intercept the enemy when we travel beyond the gates of Konoha, and as such you will be trained further for analyzing situations, determining points of weakness, and adjusting yourself for most situations. You will be receiving a far harsher load than most Genin in your situation would be, as I will be giving you a watered-down version of ANBU training methods. That actually goes for all three of you. I expect my students to do me proud, and provided that you work hard, you will. I will give you a list of needed materials and a time for meeting later. It will be in the evenings."

Sasuke leveled his gaze at Jiyumaru and nodded that he understood.

"Naruto, I am afraid I have much remedial work for you," Jiyumaru began, "your taijutsu forms are still terrible, but I will be helping you with that in mornings. Meet me here at 6 am starting Monday, and be prepared for three hours of hard training, followed by our normal team training routine."

As Naruto opened his mouth to protest, Sakura slapped a hand over and whispered harshly for him to shut up. Jiyumaru bit back a grin as he saw this. The two had developed a slight camaraderie, with Naruto no longer pestering the pinkette for dates, she had actually grown to tolerate him better, even encouraging him to eat better yesterday after their training session.

"Furthermore, you will be trained in tactics and logistics," Jiyumaru continued, "as well as a full dissertation of the abilities of your teammates, which will be updated as they grow stronger. In addition your your taijutsu training, you will be drilled in various ninjutsu, as well as how to better identify genjutsu. You will also be learning stealth, infiltration, and sabotage tactics once I can acquire you a proper teacher."

"WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed, "why the hell is my workload so huge?! I won't have ANY free time to even relax!"

"First, and you'd better understand this Naruto, is that your time belongs to Konoha before yourself," Jiyumaru replied, not unkindly, "however, you will be given time to relax and unwind once you get caught up into the swing of things. I have selected you to be the team leader when I am not present, and you must be ready, both mentally and physically, for that responsibility."

Naruto's jaw dropped while Sasuke and Sakura brought voice to their protests, but Jiyumaru silenced them. "ENOUGH! I chose Naruto because he thought of the team during your test, and not solely of himself. He showed he has the proper drive to be a leader, caring for his team more than himself. And so until I deem him unfit for command, he will be in command of the team in my absence, and in those situations his words will be backed by my authority. Is this understood?"

Sakura and Sasuke both looked mutinous, but the looks were soon quelled by a leaking of killing intent from Jiyumaru. Nodding to himself, he turned his attention to Naruto. "Do not abuse this trust, young Uzumaki."

Wordlessly, Naruto gave a nod, speechless for one of the few times in his life. With a slight smile at Naruto, Jiyumaru turned his attention at last to Sakura.

"Sakura, starting Monday after noon you will be having lessons three times a week, for two hours a day, with Yuhi Kurenai. She is doing me this favor to teach you Genjutsu. In return she will let you know when her team is ready for certain forms of training, to which you will let me know. I will be assisting her team in such training."

"H-hai sensei," Sakura gulped.

"Also, as I told you on the first full day we had as a team, that you will be tutoring Naruto," Jiyumaru went on, "this will start today, and take place no less than two days a week, at your convenience. Sakura, I ask that you be patient with your pupil. You have permission to use mild physical discipline to get him on track, but nothing harsh, got it?"

Sakura gave a nod. If Naruto _was_ going to be their team leader, then he needed to be a lot smarter than he was... maybe she could also try and get him to not wear that hideous orange jumpsuit so they wouldn't get killed out on a real mission? She decided to file that away for later. It wasn't like they'd have a dangerous mission for _months_, after all.

"Good, and Naruto, obey her as you would, no, _better_ than you would Iruka-sensei," Jiyumaru advised his blond student, "fail any quizzes she gives you by an unreasonable amount, and you'll answer to _me_. Each quiz or test you fail by too far an amount in my own opinion, and your workouts will be _tripled_."

Naruto blanched at the threat before nodding furiously in understanding. Jiyumaru smirked at Naruto's expression.

"Now, let us start taijutsu drills. Naruto, Sakura, use the stances I have shown you. Sasuke, use counter-stance eight and proceed from there. You are still over-extending yourself. Let the movements flow fluidly into one another. Now, begin!"

Later that day, after their training session and 'mission', Naruto and Sakura were walking out of the Hokage's Tower together, neither one looking all that pleased. _Naruto_ would have to _study_, with _Sakura_ as his tutor! He'd get to spend time with Sakura-chan, but the studying... well, he'd have to make do. Jiyumaru-sensei said if he was to be team leader, he'd _have_ to have more book smarts.

"So Naruto, whee do you want to study?" Sakura hesitantly asked. She didn't really _want_ to spend time with Naruto like this, but an order was an order.

"Er, let's try the Konoha Library?" Naruto suggested, "I mean, it's got all the stuff to study already there."

With a nod, Sakura and Naruto headed for the Library. Upon arrival, however, a Chuunin that was leaving stopped in front of the door, clearly barring them entrance.

"Um, excuse me, we were heading in," Sakura said politely to the Chuunin.

"The Library's closed," the Chuunin growled.

"But it doesn't close for several hours!" Sakura protested.

"It's closed due to an..infestation," the Chuunin said, looking directly at Naruto, making him fidget slightly.

"er, come on, we can, uh, study at my place Sakura," Naruto said softly, his tone subdued. Sakura frowned. This didn't make sense. She'd seen some other people head into the library before they got there. It was as if this man was keeping _Naruto_ out of the library.

'But...why? It's not like he was _dangerous_! Heck, he's usually more of a danger to _himself_ than others, he's so incompetent!' Sakura thought as she watched the Chuunin let another person in. This.. wasn't right. Not right at all, and Naruto was just standing there, taking it. 'It's like he's used to this, that its nothing out of the ordinary. He doesn't _expect_ them to treat him any different!'

"C'mon, Sakura-chan, I think I still have my schoolbooks back home," Naruto said softly, not looking at the smirking Chuunin, "we can study there."

Hearing Naruto's subdued voice brought Sakura back to reality. Sparing a glance at her teammate, then at the smirking Chuunin, she gave a sigh and nodded. She put the incident out of her mind for the time being, but she _would_ be talking to Jiyumaru-sensei about it tomorrow.

"So this is where you live?" Sakura asked, glancing around a bit nervously. While there weren't any 'bad' sections in Konoha (living in a shinobi village definitely had some perks), it was definitely about as close as Konoha got. The neighborhood was untidy to say the least, and Naruto's apartment was easily the shabbiest of the lot.

"It's not much, but its home," Naruto replied softly as he turned the key and opened his apartment door. The apartment itself was surprisingly neat, and tidy. Sakura had thought, that without parents or even caretakers to teach him manners and make him clean up after himself, or do it for him, that his apartment would have been a pigsty. Apparently she was wrong.

"Well, shall we start?" Sakura asked slowly as she stepped in after her blond teammate.

* * *

Even with a full night's sleep and a solid breakfast, Sakura's nerves were still shot. Naruto was just so..so... well, he wasn't exactly stupid, but he just couldn't think! He had no ability to grasp the simple mathematics she had been trying to teach him last night. He'd been somewhat interested in the history, but he just didn't understand _anything_. It was like he didn't even understand the fundamentals, but that couldn't be. They wouldn't let him graduate if he didn't understand even that, at least.

As she arrived at Team 7's designated meeting spot, she saw that her sensei was already there. Despite his first two appearances, it seemed he did not have chronic tardiness. He was always early, and had punished the entire team each time one of them was so much as even a minute late. He'd work them to the bone, and respond to any complaints by tripling the workload for the complainer for the rest of the day.

"uh, sensei?" Sakura asked softly as she got to her usual waiting spot.

"What is it, Sakura?" Jiyumaru asked from his position. As was normal for him, he was sitting on the ground, legs crossed, his katana in its sheath leaning against his shoulder, the tip of the _saya_ jutted into the ground, the _tsuka_ and _tsuba_ resting against his shoulder.

"Well, it's about Naruto," Sakura began uncertainly.

"Ah yes, how was yesterday's tutoring session?" Jiyumaru asked.

"He, well, he's not too smart, Jiyumaru-sensei," Sakura explained, "I tried to test him, but it's like he doesn't know anything."

"Then I'd advise you to test him precisely, see where his current limits are at," Jiyumaru responded, "start at the very beginning, and then go from there."

"But that could take ages!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Then I suggest you start immediately," Jiyumaru advised seriously, "knowledge is power, especially in the shinobi world."

"Hai sensei," was Sakura's disgruntled reply.

With that, the two settled into a reasonable silence that lasted well past Sasuke joining them.

Jiyumaru sighed. "He's late again."

"Not yet sensei, he does still have a minute left," Sakura responded. Sasuke was about to say something else when the cries of a certain blond could be heard.

"Help help help help HEEELLLP!"

Off in the distance the three older members of Team 7 could see their youngest, and by far loudest, teammate running from one Ino Yamanaka. Jiyumaru sighed. Couldn't that boy go a week without doing something to antagonize that girl?

"When I get my hands on you you'll wish you'd never been born, you little twerp!" Ino howled.

"How about I just wish I'd never met you?" Naruto retorted as he leaped straight over Sakura.

"WHY YOU!" Ino snarled, only to suddenly stop as the back of her neck is grabbed by Jiyumaru.

"Yamanaka-san, please do not mutilate my student," he stated calmly, "it would be a pain to drag him to the hospital and wait for him to be healed."

Ino growled. "Do you even know what this PERVERT did to me?!"

"No, nor do I care," Jiyumaru replied evenly, "but you were intent on inflicting severe bodily harm on my student, and such a thing cannot be allowed. If you insist on doing so, I will be forced to do something...severe."

Jiyumaru's tone was as cold as ice, sending shivers down the spines of his students. They knew he wasn't one for idle threats.

Ino gulped. She knew she wouldn't be able to wheedle or cajole her way out of a punishment. "w-what's my punishment, Jiyumaru-sensei?"

After studying her for a bit, Jiyumaru handed down the law. "Two hundred push-ups and sit-ups, and the same number of hundred meter sprints."

Ino paled. _Six miles_. She had to do two hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and then run _six miles_. She'd be utterly exhausted by then, and she'd still have training with her team!

"I advise you to start now," Jiyumaru stated, "Sakura, keep pace with her while doing your own morning exercises. Keep watch when you are done with your own. Also, provide 'encouragement'."

"Hai sensei," Sakura said with a slight grin. Ino's punishment was in fact most of their morning work-out, though the sprints were far more than they did. Walking over to a bush, she yanked off a thin, supple branch and stripped it of twigs and leaves. After testing it, she turned to Ino with a grin, cracking the makeshift switch.

"Get to work, Ino-pig!" Sakura barked. The cracking sound of the switch sent Ino into a flurry of movement, dropping to the ground and starting her push-ups.

"Sakura, double your work-out," Jiyumaru called out evenly, "respect your fellow Konoha shinobi and kunoichi. You never know when they might save your life."

Gulping, Sakura gave a quick, apologetic "Sorry sensei" before redoubling her efforts. Surprisingly, to her, Sasuke received this punishment fairly often.

After the exercises were done, with a near-exhausted Ino and Sakura finishing last, Jiyumaru sent Ino off to her own sensei with a short note stating why she was late, and advice directed towards Asuma to step up the blonde's training; she was in rather pitiful shape even for a fresh Academy graduate.

"Seeing as how you have progressed better than I expected so far, I believe I shall treat you to a mid-morning meal," Jiyumaru stated, his voice never leaving his usual calm tone.

"Whoohoo, free food!" Naruto cheered. Jiyumaru quickly made a note to plug his ears once Naruto found out where they were going.

"WHOOHOOO RAMEN!" Naruto all but screamed. Jiyumaru was thankful he'd plugged his fingers into his ears to muffle the sound, but even so, the Kyuubi-container was _loud_.

"Ohayo, Naruto," Ayame replied cheerfully, her back turned to the group as they walked up, "no need to be so loud."

"Six Training Specials, Ayame," Jiyumaru called out softly, "One each for me and my two students, and three for the Bottomless Ramen Pit."

Ayame let out a giggle as she echoed the order to her father. "Of course, of course. Coming right up!"

"Training Specials?" Naruto asked, confused, "I've never heard of that one."

"Oh, its just something Jiyumaru and I came up with years ago," Ayame said as she turned around to take their drink orders, "it gives more nutrients needed for training. Give you plenty of pep and energy to train harder, longer."

"Nee-san, you know Jiyumaru-sensei?" Naruto asked, surprised. They hadn't mentioned anything the last time they were at Ichiraku's, after the first day of training.

"oh, you could say I know this knucklehead," Ayame said with a grin, "way back when, we were teammates as Genin."

Three Genin eyes blinked simultaneously once, twice, thrice before a certain blond let out an extremely loud "NANI?!"

"Nee-san, you were a ninja?!" Naruto exclaimed, then his voice turned a little hurt "and you never told me?"

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I don't think too much of my shinobi career," Ayame apologized, "I didn't exactly retire by choice."

"What happened?" a curious Sakura asked.

"It was, oh, just a little over nine years ago, during the final days of the conflict with Kumogakure," Ayame began, "we were on a routine patrol when we came across a strong force of Kumo shinobi, including the Raikage himself Yotsuki Ē."

"We barely escaped with our lives," Jiyumaru continued, "outnumbered five to one, the three of us, our sensei, and Kakashi-sempai. Fortunately, we spotted them before they spotted us. Sensei and Kakashi were able to eliminate a good portion of them with some ninjutsu, and Ayame-chan took out several others with Genjutsu. She's damn good at those. I've seen her fool active doujutsu on occasion."

"Hush you," Ayame admonished with a blush, "I had to do a lot of set-up and preparation to slip in, and you know it!"

"Hai, Hai, I know," Jiyumaru chuckled, "but it's still a damn good accomplishment. Anyway, we'd brought the numbers down to just over two to one with our initial surprise assault, but the remaining enemy included the Raikage himself, four Chuunin, and six Jounin, each of them among his best. Ayame distracted two of the Chuunin while Sensei handled the Raikage and one of the Jounin. I was stuck with the remaining two Chuunin and a Jounin while our last teammate handled another, and Kakashi-sempai dealt with the last three Jounin by himself."

"So you were the strongest on your team?" Sasuke asked, noting that his sensei had spoken of dealing with three opponents while Ayame and their final teammate dealt with one or two.

Jiyumaru chuckled. "Not really. We kinda balanced each other out. Our teammate could beat Ayame-chan, but I could beat him, and Ayame-chan could beat me. Though to be honest, we all had our good days and bad days. We had a perfect balance in personal ability, rather than natural ability, that made us push ourselves to our limits and beyond."

"True, too true," Ayame admitted, "Jiyumaru's combat style is equally suited to facing multiple opponents as it is a single opponent. Unfortunately I was never a front line fighter, more directed at support. I was up against two Chuunin who excelled at lightning jutsu. I mistimed a dodge and got hit with a debilitating blast. Before Jiyumaru could interfere, I was left with several nerves in my legs fried. I couldn't move with the reaction time a ninja of my rank required anymore, and since at the time I was too young for an administration job, I had to completely retire."

"Your not one for something like that, anyway," Jiyumaru stated teasingly, "no sense of planning this girl."

"Hey!" Ayame protested, giving Jiyumaru a hard slap upside the head, "take that back, or I'll tell them about our second C-ranked mission!"

Jiyumaru paled. "N-no, th-that's fine Ayame-chan. I'm sorry, really I am!"

Ayame smirked triumphantly. "It's so good we're on the same page, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Jiyumaru chuckled, "anyway, Ayame retired from active duty, and joined her dad in the ramen business. Though if she knows what's good for her, she's been keeping her skills as sharp as she can manage."

"Wanna relive our eighth D-ranked mission?" Ayame asked sweetly, making Jiyumaru pale and whimper. "I thought not."

"So you use Genjutsu, Ayame-san?" Sakura asked.

"Indeed I did," Ayame replied modestly, "very few could detect them, and even fewer could break them."

"Contrary to what is taught in the textbooks, breaking a genjutsu us a matter of opposing wills," Jiyumaru explained, "now, since you are trying to reassert your natural chakra flow to break a genjutsu, and this is how your chakra WANTS to flow, genjutsu are usually easy to dispel. With enough force of will, you can keep your opponent from breaking your genjutsu no matter how good they are at dispelling them. High-ranked genjutsu are high-ranked because they require a high amount of chakra, chakra control, and force of will to use effectively, if at all. This is why genjutsu experts are rare: it is very difficult to find a shinobi who has all three of these things. A Jounin level genjutsu specialist, like Team 8's sensei Yuhi Kurenai, is exceedingly dangerous because while they seem at best mediocre in the standard shinobi arts, they directly attack a shinobi's greatest strength and greatest weakness, their mind."

"In other words, genjutsu specialists are among the rarest, and yet still most dangerous, shinobi out there," Ayame finished.

"Quit talking shop, you two!" Teuchi admonished as he brought up the ramen orders, "I didn't stand for it when you were on active duty, Ayame, and I won't stand for it now!"

Ayame giggled. "Hai, Tou-san."

Jiyumaru rolled his eyes. "Hai, Ossan. Now you three, dig in. Trust me, this stuff is delicious, and it'll bolster even _your_ unholy stamina, Naruto."

"Finding out why he's able to outrun dozens of your old colleagues, eh Jiyumaru?" Ayame asked with a grin.

"Considering he can create enough Kage Bunshin to trap and capture Zurui, I'm able to make my own observations," Jiyumaru retorted with a smirk. Ayame blinked

"Well, that certainly is surprising. First time for everything."

"And if that fuzzy over-sized rat wants a rematch, I'll be glad to give him one!" Naruto declared as he slurped up some of his ramen. With a wry grin, Jiyumaru shook his head.

"You'll get your chance one day, kid, you'll get your chance one day."

* * *

Tsuka: the metal hand guard of a katana

Saya: the scabbard

Tsuba: The actual handle of the katana.

Ossan: old man

So so so SO sorry this took so long to get out, Writer's block was murder. I can't promise the next chapter will be out any sooner than this one was, as the idea's for the next few chapters were never solid to begin with.


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